1. Bacon Ice Cream Sundae
Add a few crunchy bits of cooked bacon to a scoop of your favorite ice cream and top with a drizzle of dark chocolate and sliced banana. The salty flavor of the bacon will brighten the perfectly sweet ice cream flavors.

2. Bacon Bloody Mary
A Milwaukee hometown favorite, The Comet Café serves up its famous Comet Bloody Mary garnished with bacon. Splashes of vodka and Guinness give this drink unparallelled flavor. While you’re brunching, be sure to check out Comet’s bacon pancakes, too! Not traveling to Milwaukee anytime soon? Take your favorite Bloody or Virgin Mary cocktail recipe and add in a few strips of crispy bacon.

3. Bacon Hot Dogs
A Los Angeles favorite, the bacon wrapped hotdog is believed to have originated in Mexico. There are quite a few variations on the delicacy, but the most popular consists of grilled bacon twisted around a hot dog topped with grilled onions, diced tomatoes, ketchup, mustard, mayo, and a whole grilled green poblano chile. This is a perfect twist on traditional grilled hotdogs – try it at your next cookout!

4. Bacon Cupcakes
Butch Bakery in New York City is famous for its bacon-infused cupcake, the Driller. Starting with a maple cake recipe the folks at Butch Bakery top the cupcake with crumbled bacon and milk-chocolate ganache. Try it at home with a spice cupcake recipe, crumbled bacon, walnuts, and milk-chocolate frosting.

5. Bacon Apricot Bites
Wrap raw bacon around fresh apricots with a toothpick and place on the grill until the bacon is super crispy. Pass these around at your next gathering for a quick and delicious appetizer.

6. Bacon S’mores
While toasting marshmallows near the campfire, fry up some bacon on a small cast iron pan. Add the cooked bacon to the marshmallow, chocolate and/or caramel, and graham cracker s’more for a surprisingly delicious fireside treat.

7. Bacon Peanut Brittle
Recently served at New York City’s Upper West Side Shake Shack location, Bacon Peanut Brittle is a delicious mix of sweet, savory, and crunchy. Invented by The Redhead, this concoction contains maple syrup, thyme, and cayenne pepper among a few secret ingredients. Try this at home using your own spices and, of course, your favorite bacon.

8. Bacon Biscotti
Chicago’s Nonna Santi’s Biscotti serves up a sweet savory, bacon biscotti treat. Starting with the perfect biscotti recipe, then topped with bacon and glazed with maple syrup, it’s truly extraordinary. Serve at brunch or over afternoon coffee for an awesome bacon alternative.

9. Bacon Cheesecake
Journalist Linda Ellerbee adapted this recipe from one given to her by the chef at the George Hotel in London. Ellerbee’s includes the refined flavor of stilton cheese. Cheesecake standards like a graham cracker crust and sweet cream cheese are given new life with the infusion of bacon and stilton. Try the recipe here or make your own version by mixing crisp bacon and walnuts into your favorite cheesecake recipe.

10. Bacon Donut
San Franscico’s Dynamo Donut serves up Bacon Maple Apple donuts fresh each morning. Garnering rave reviews, this sweet and salty treat is a delicious and indulgent accompaniment to a morning cup of coffee. Try it at home by starting with a simple donut recipe, mix in fresh chopped apple, fry and top off with crumbled bacon and maple syrup ganache or frosting.

11. To keep grilled fish from drying out, wrap whole fish or fillets in strips of smoked bacon. The bacon also enhances the smoky aromas of grilled fish.

12. To give your favorite tomato sauce recipe a little something special, cook chopped bacon until crisp, then remove with a slotted spoon and use the bacon fat to saute the onions and other ingredients in your recipe.

13. For an unexpected-yet-welcome flavor in pancakes, add cooked crumbled bacon. Use the bacon drippings to cook the pancakes. You’ll be amazed at how well the bacon goes with the maple syrup poured over the pancakes!

14. To make bacon cornbread, fry 8 slices of bacon until crisp, then use the drippings to replace part of the fat in the recipe. Crumble the bacon and add to the batter.

15. For out-of-this-world roasted pork, rub the roast (tenderloin or sirloin) with your favorite spice rub. Then wrap the roast in slices of bacon and brush with some maple syrup. Roast and serve sliced. The bacon will baste the meat, adding moisture and flavor as the roast cooks.

16. For a delicious savory pie crust, fry 6 to 8 slices of bacon until crisp, then drain, finely chop, and add to the pie dough. Chill and roll the dough as usual. This makes an incredible crust for quiche, potpie, and other savory pies.

17. To add flavor and moisture to meat loaf, wrap strips of bacon around the shaped loaf before baking. If you like, mix some crumbled cooked bacon into the meat loaf mixture as well.

18. To reduce the fat in cooked bacon, bake it at 375°F on a rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. The fat will drip into the baking sheet. Bonus: baked bacon stays flat instead of curling up.

19. For mashed potatoes you won’t soon forget, mix in crumbled cooked bacon. A little sour cream in the mash complements the bacon really well.

20. To enliven creamy dips, stir in crumbled crispy bacon. For even more flavor, also add sauteed shiitake mushrooms.

21. To give lentil salads a smoky kiss, add some chopped cooked bacon. Here’s a basic recipe: Put 1 cup (about 1/2 pound) sorted and rinsed brown lentils in a saucepan and add cold water to cover by 1 1/2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until the lentils are tender yet firm, 15 to 20 minutes. Watch the lentils carefully, as they easily fall apart when overcooked. Drain the lentils and cool. Toast 1/2 cup chopped walnuts in a skillet over medium-low heat until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Cut 5 or 6 slices meaty bacon into small squares and cook in the same skillet over medium heat until crisp. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate and let cool. To serve, divide 4 cups (about 1/4 pound) mesclun greens or baby spinach and 2 peeled and thinly sliced carrots among four salad plates. Squeeze 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice into a medium bowl and slowly whisk in 1/2 cup olive oil in a thin stream. Add the lentils, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or oregano, and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix well then spoon over the greens and sprinkle with the bacon and walnuts. Top with plenty of freshly cracked black pepper.

22. To enhance the flavor of poultry stuffing, cook bacon until crisp, then use the bacon fat to saute the onions, celery, and other stuffing ingredients. Crumble the bacon and add to the stuffing.

23. To give popcorn a new twist, cook 4 strips of bacon in a large, heavy pot. Remove and drain on a paper towel-lined plate, then chop very finely. Add enough oil to the bacon drippings to make about 3 tablespoons oil in the pan. Heat over high heat until very hot. Add 1 cup popping corn, cover and shake until the popping sounds stop, about 2 minutes, venting the pan lid occasionally. Remove from the heat and toss the popped corn with the minced cooked bacon, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

24. For a white seafood pizza with panache, add some crispy bacon to the toppings. For instance, top a prepared pizza crust (such as Boboli) with ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, fresh chopped garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, crumbled crisp bacon, dried oregano, and canned chopped clams. Bake at 450°F until the cheese melts and the crust is golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes.