Forget candy, this is my kind of treat.
A friend sent me the link from someone’s Facebook page, and I knew I had to try them right away.
So simple. So delicious. Sweet. Salty. Fragrant with sage and sticky with maple syrup. These little babies hit all the right buttons with me.
You can prep them in advance, then pop them in the oven right before serving.
Other fruit/pig combinations
I think apricots were amazing for this. That said, I could see improvising with different fruits.
For example, I could see trying:
- Dried peaches wrapped with fresh basil leaves and bacon
- Prunes stuffed with a little Stilton and wrapped with bacon
- Dates wrapped with fresh tarragon and bacon
You get the idea. I think the key is to use a fleshier dried fruit. Not sure these would be the same if I wrapped it around something like a dried apple slice. If it needs to be said, don’t use fruit that hasn’t been pitted.
Let me know what you come up with! I love sage, so these were perfect for me.
Local love
For this recipe, I used maple syrup and bacon from Tendercrop Farms, one of my favorite local farms. Use any kind of syrup you like, just don’t use fake pancake syrup. Grade B maple syrup would be great.
Sometime, I’ll get up to Tendercrop and take a bunch of pictures and post about it. The ceiling of the entire second floor is covered with bundles of herbs, flowers, and peppers hanging from the rafters. It’s something to see. And, they have a petting zoo with all sorts of fancy chickens, goats, and a pig or two. (Bonus, right?)
Their bacon is so unbelievably good.
I mean, look at this. It’s glorious.
Alright, let’s get cooking.
Maple-Glazed, Bacon-Wrapped Apricots
12 plump dried apricots, pitted
12 large fresh sage leaves
6 thick slices bacon
1/4 cup maple syrup
Freshly cracked black pepper
Serves about 4 (3 apps each)
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
Wrap up those apricots
OK, so here’s the basic drill. Grab an apricot, a sage leaf, and a piece of bacon that’s maybe 2-3 inches long. It needs to be long enough to wrap around the apricot completely, with a little overlap.
Grab your apricot and sage. Wrap the leaf around the apricot.
Gauge your bacon. If it’s too wide/thick and dwarfs the apricot, cut it in half lengthwise.
(I know, I almost always use kitchen shears to deal with bacon.)
Wrap the bacon around the apricot and secure with a toothpick.
Pop the little bundle onto your prepared pan.
Rinse and repeat until you’ve used all your ingredients and have a small, bacon-wrapped army of apricots in front of you.
(Delicious bacon army, go!)
Drizzle with maple syrup
Drizzle each with a little maple syrup.
Dust with freshly cracked black pepper. Roll the little guy around in the maple syrup to coat him well.
Roast the apricots
When you’re ready to make them, pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for 16 minutes total, flipping once after about 8 minutes.
After 16 minutes, when the bacon is nicely browned, yank the pan out of the oven. Cool for about 5 minutes on the pan. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Serve & enjoy!
Seriously, yum.
  
Send me your pictures!
Have you made them? What did you think? Send me a picture if you like, and I’ll add it to this post, with credit to you!
Enjoy!
The Hungry Mouse
Yields About 4 servings
So simple. So delicious. Sweet. Salty. Fragrant with sage and sticky with maple syrup. This is one of our favorite apps ever!
Save RecipeIngredients
Instructions
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Grab your apricot and sage. Wrap the leaf around the apricot.
- Gauge your bacon. If it’s too wide/thick and dwarfs the apricot, cut it in half lengthwise. Wrap the bacon around the apricot and secure with a toothpick.
- Pop the little bundle onto your prepared pan.
- Rinse and repeat until you’ve used all your ingredients and have a small, bacon-wrapped army of apricots in front of you.
- Drizzle with maple syrup
- Dust with freshly cracked black pepper. Roll the little guy around in the maple syrup to coat him well.
- When you’re ready to make them, pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for 16 minutes total, flipping once after about 8 minutes.
- After 16 minutes, when the bacon is nicely browned, yank the pan out of the oven. Cool for about 5 minutes on the pan.
- Serve hot or at room temperature.
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