Black Pepper Candied Bacon

makes 2 cups

It might seem hard to imagine improving on bacon, but crispy bacon can become a treat when layered with sweet-savory flavor. We sprinkled bacon strips with brown sugar and black pepper. The sugar contributed a lovely caramel-toffee background taste along with its ­sweetness, and the black pepper provided the spice punch. Baking the seasoned strips ensured even cooking and prevented the coating from burning. For this recipe, we ­prefer center-cut bacon, which is more uniform in thickness than traditional bacon. If your bacon slices range in thickness, place the thinner slices on one tray and the thicker pieces on the other for more-even ­cooking. Do not substitute dark brown sugar here.

¼ cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pepper
12 ounces center-cut bacon, halved crosswise

Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-­middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sugar and pepper in bowl. Arrange bacon on 2 aluminum foil–lined rimmed baking sheets and sprinkle with sugar mixture. Using your fingers, spread sugar mixture evenly over 1 side of slices so they are completely covered.

Bake until bacon is dark brown and sugar is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Set wire rack over triple layer of paper towels. Remove sheets from oven as bacon finishes cooking and transfer bacon to prepared wire rack. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.