nothing says Valentine's Day like bacon and chocolate!

Yeah, that's right.  A chocolate bacon bar.  What says's "I love you" like chocolate and bacon?  

If you need last minute ideas for Valentine's Day, or just really want to keep these all to yourself, this recipe is easy and yummy.  Being a vegetarian I haven't tried them myself, but Jeff ate half the batch in a day, so they must be good!

Be prepared for gratuitous chocolate photos.  They were just so pretty!  I couldn't narrow it down.  :)

 These chocolates are great.  All you really need is bacon and chocolate chips.

Start by laying 5 strips of bacon on a foil lined lipped baking sheet.  If you want to infuse some extra sweetness you can brush two teaspoons of maple syrup over the bacon.  Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes until cooked but not crispy.  I baked mine for 12.  Take the bacon out and let it cool for a few minutes.  Dice the bacon as small as you can and place it on clean foil on the same baking sheet.  Bake for 2-5 minutes until its a bit crispy.  Remove from the baking sheet and place on a plate lined with paper towels.

While the bacon is cooling get out a small double boiler and slowly melt 2 cups of chocolate chips until smooth and shiny.  You can use whatever shape molds you want (these are silicone cupcake sized molds).  Make sure the mold interiors are clean and completely dry.  Spread a thin layer of chocolate on the mold bottoms to insure the candy tops are flat and clean when they're finished.

Mix the bacon into the melted chocolate and evenly pour into the molds.  I filled my molds 1/3 of the way up and they were pretty thick.  I made 9 chocolates, but you could make up to 12 without them being too thin.  Firmly tap the molds on the counter a few times to get rid of any possible air bubbles and to make sure the chocolates lay flat.  Let the chocolate sit out for a few hours to harden completely.  

When the chocolate is firm gently remove them from the molds.  They could be finished at this point, or you could decorate them like I did.  I used 1/4 cup of red candy melts to decorate.  These are pretty easy to use.  Put your candy melts into an uncut piping bag, or a sandwich bag and microwave upright in a plastic cup for 30 seconds at a time until evenly melted.  Snip a small hole in the bag tip.

Lay the chocolates out on parchment paper and very quickly create a pattern on the chocolates.  Let them dry.

Once the candy melt decorations have dried pick up the chocolate and snap off any small pieces hanging off.

Enjoy! Try not to eat them all in one day.

Chocolate Bacon Bars

Ingredients:

• 5 strips of bacon
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup (optional)
• 2 Cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 Cup red candy melts (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lay bacon out on foil lined lipped baking sheet.  Optionally brush bacon with maple syrup. Bake for 10-15 minutes until bacon is cooked but not crispy.
2. Dice bacon finely and return to oven on clean foil lined baking sheet for 2-5 minutes, until crispy but not burnt.
3. Let bacon cool on paper towel covered plate.
4. Prep a double boiler and slowly melt the chocolate chips until smooth and shiny.
5. Spread a thin layer of chocolate on the mold bottoms, then mix the bacon into the chocolate mix and evenly pour into the molds, about 1/3 of the way to the tops.
6. Tap the molds on the counter to remove possible air bubbles and flatten the chocolate.  Let dry completely. 
7. Optional decoration: lay solid chocolate on parchment paper.  Put the candy melts into an uncut piping bag or sandwich bag and microwave upright in a plastic cup for 30 second intervals until melted evenly.  Snip a small hole in the bag tip and very quickly drizzle a pattern onto the chocolates.  Let dry.  Pick off any small bits of candy hanging off the chocolate bars.  Enjoy!