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Vanilla, Brown Sugar & Black Pepper Bacon

Four of my favorite ingredients! Vanilla bean. Brown sugar. Black pepper. Bacon. How could I resist? I couldn't. Think bacon candy. Oh, my!

Adapted from Shauna Sever's Pure Vanilla

12 oz uncured applewood-smoked bacon, sliced in half
caviar of 1 vanilla bean
1/3 C dark brown sugar, packed
1 t pure vanilla extract
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line your baking sheets with foil. In a large bowl whisk together all of the ingredients. Toss the bacon in and coat well, rubbing the sugar mixture onto each bacon slice. Lay the strips on your sheets and sprinkle with any leftover sugar. Bake until crisp and caramelized, approximately 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a cooling rack over paper towels to drain. The sugar will firm as it cools, creating a candy-like glaze.

I used this as a garnish on top of poached eggs on a bed of spinach.

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