Round 2 of research into making the ultimate bacon chocolate cupcakes and I discovered something so much better than caramelized bacon: chocolate covered bacon! How did I not think of that before?

I had envisioned little pieces of chocolate covered bacon, sort of like chocolate chips. Part of what I didn’t like about the original bacon chocolate cupcakes was that the pieces of bacon inside the cupcakes felt like pieces of paper to me. I thought that perhaps little chocolate bacon chips would be more like chocolate chips in cupcakes, except savory and salty.

And WOW. It totally worked! The salty and sweet combo with creamy milk chocolate was amazing. The chocolate adds a nice creaminess to the chewy bacon. Putting them inside of cupcakes gave this great experience of biting into rich chocolate chunks that turn savory in your mouth. Stay tuned – tomorrow the Ultimate Bacon Chocolate Cupcakes will be revealed!

Chocolate Bacon Chips

• 5 slices of bacon
• 1/2 C milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Line baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Place bacon slices onto pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Place bacon onto plate layered with paper towels. Once cooled, dice bacon.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Set up a double boiler: heat water in a saucepan over high heat. Place chocolate chips into a heatproof bowl set on top of the saucepan of simmering water. Stir with a fork or whisk until all chocolate is melted and smooth. Dip diced bacon into chocolate and remove using fork or colander. Place chocolate dipped pieces onto parchment paper and refrigerate until cooled and hardened.