Even though we were up to our ears in waffles and peaches on Saturday, you know I couldn’t possibly have people over without making dessert.

So what kind of dessert does one make for a breakfast-themed party? How about marshmallows with candied bacon in them?

I can’t take credit for the brilliant idea of putting bacon inside of marshmallows. The recipe came from the book, “Marshmallow Madness,” by Shauna Sever, which I highly recommend to anyone who loves sugar and books with puffy covers.

Making these isn’t too different than making any other marshmallows — you will need a candy thermometer and a stand mixer — except the addition of maple syrup in the sugar syrup mixture, and, of course, the candied bacon.

If you like the combination of sweet and salty, I think you’ll like these marshmallows. They’re sweet (duh), with a strong maple flavor and little bits of salty-sweet bacon.

They went over very well on Saturday, but possibly even better on Sunday, when we had a reunion in San Diego with some of our good friends/neighbors from Annapolis. I was concerned the flavor combination would be too much for the pre-K set… but the marshmallows ended up being a hit with all age groups.

  

Maple-bacon marshmallows (Adapted from Marshmallow Madness, makes about 24 marshmallows)
6-8 slices of bacon
Brown sugar
4  1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin (I think this was two packets)
1/2 cup cold water
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup Grade A dark or Grade B maple syrup (make sure you get one of these types for optimal maple flavor!)
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Powdered sugar and cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 350F. Place a wire cooling rack on a rimmed baking sheet (you may also want to put some foil on the baking sheet to catch the bacon grease).

Place the bacon slices in a bowl with brown sugar. Use your (clean) hands to coat the bacon in brown sugar, then lay the sugar-coated strips flat on the wire rack. Cook the bacon in the oven until it’s nice and crispy (probably around 30 minutes). Allow to cool, then crumble or chop it into bits. You should have about 1/2 cup of candied bacon bits.

Once the bacon is ready, spray an 8- by 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Whisk the gelatin and 1/2 cup cold water together in a small, microwavable bowl. Let it sit while you make the sugar syrup.

To make the syrup, stir the sugar, maple syrup, corn syrup, 1/4 cup water and salt together in a medium or large saucepan. Clip your candy thermometer onto the pan (if it has a clip on it), making sure the tip isn’t touching the bottom of the saucepan. Turn the heat to high and allow the mixture to boil, stirring occasionally, until it reaches 240F (make sure you watch it — it is likely to bubble up).

While the syrup is heating, microwave the gelatin for 15-30 seconds, or until it is completely dissolved. Put the whisk attachment on your stand mixer and pour the water-gelatin mixture into the bowl.

When the sugar syrup gets to 240F, remove it from the heat and turn the stand mixer to low (the gelatin mixture should already be in there). Very carefully (wear an oven mitt!) pour the hot syrup into the mixer bowl in a steady stream — I usually try to pour it down the inside edge of the bowl. Turn the speed up to medium and mix for 5 minutes, then turn the speed up again to medium-high and mix for 3 more minutes.

Add the cinnamon to the marshmallow mixture and turn the mixer speed up to high for one minute.

Add the bacon bits and fold them into the mixture using a rubber spatula. Pour the marshmallow into the baking pan, then dip your fingers in some water (or put them under the tap) and use them to smooth the top of the marshmallow.

Stir together about 1/4 cup powdered sugar and 1/4 cup corn starch, and sprinkle or sift it over the top of the marshmallow mixture. Keep the extra sugar/corn starch mixture in a bag. Let the marshmallow sit uncovered at room temperature (or slightly cooler than room temperature) at least 6 hours (or overnight).

When the marshmallows are set, use a knife with a bit of canola oil on it to loosen the marshmallow from the sides of the pan, and turn the whole thing out onto a clean surface (I like to use a cutting board). Use the knife or a pizza cutter to cut the marshmallow into small pieces.

Place the leftover powdered sugar/corn starch mixture in a small bowl (or just make more), then roll each of the small marshmallows around in the mixture to coat it. Store the marshmallows in an air-tight container at room temperature.