For a cute morning treat, you’ll love these maple Halloween bacon bats for breakfast. They’re so easy to make, and tasty, too!
We used our popular Maple Candied Bacon recipe as the inspiration for these fun little winged bats. (If you love the flavor combination of maple and bacon, be sure to check out our Maple Bacon Cupcakes, Maple Pancakes with Bacon and Maple Carrots with Bacon!)
Partially cooking the bacon in a skillet first allows the natural curls and ridges to form on the bacon strips, which are perfect for making bat wings!
The bacon pieces are then dipped in a sweet maple-brown sugar glaze and baked to crispy perfection in the oven. (If you love sweet and salty flavors, you might also enjoy our Million Dollar Bacon recipe.)
Why You’ll Go Batty for this Recipe
Bacon bats are fun and goofy for a Halloween party, birthdays, holidays, and any time you want to add a little personality to your plate.
The maple and brown sugar glaze adds incredible flavor to these savory-salty-sweet treats.
Kids love these cute bacon bats, and adults do, too!
These cute, crispy nocturnal flying mammals are easy to make with just 4 ingredients.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Shown above, here’s what you’ll need to make these spooky Halloween bacon bats. (Scroll down for the full, printable recipe below.)
1/4 cup maple syrup – Grade A pure maple syrup has wonderful flavor, and either the amber or dark syrup works well.
1/4 cup brown sugar – light or dark brown sugar works equally well in this recipe.
Candy eyeballs – You can buy these flat-backed candy eyeballs in some cake decorating stores and on Amazon.
1 pound regular sliced bacon – smoked or unsmoked, cured or uncured — whatever you prefer!
Equipment Needed
You probably have everything on hand you need to make this fun recipe:
- Large Skillet
- Heatproof spatula
- Kitchen scissors
- Baking sheet
- Aluminum foil
- Parchment paper
- Small bowl and fork
Step by Step Instructions
Whisk together the brown sugar and maple syrup in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is well blended.
Cook the bacon slices in a large skillet over medium heat until they are browned, but still flexible… so not too crispy. This will make them easier to cut the strips in shapes.
Drain on paper towels. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and line a baking sheet with a piece of aluminum foil topped with a piece of parchment paper.
Cut the cooled bacon in the bat shaped wing and head pieces. This is easiest with a sharp pair of kitchen scissors.
You can just cut the shapes freehand, and they don’t need to be perfect. Cut the wider pieces of bacon into curved wings, and cut little round heads with pointed ears from the narrower pieces of bacon.
You should be able to get one wing piece and one little head from each bacon slice.
Dip each of the bacon pieces in the mixture, shake off excess, and arrange on the parchment lined baking sheet.
Lay the wing pieces on top of the head pieces, overlapping slightly and pressing down with the fork so they stick together.
Bake in a 325 degree F oven until the glaze melts, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
As the bats cool, the glaze will become crisp and sugary. Yum! Dip the candy eyes in the remaining maple syrup glaze and arrange on the bacon bats.
Aren’t they cute? And the best part of all is, they are SO tasty!
Pro Recipe Tips
If the cooked bacon is too crispy and you’re having a hard time cutting the shapes with scissors, wrap the strips in damp paper towels for a minute or two to soften them.
Give the maple glaze a stir just before dipping the bacon pieces, as the brown sugar can sometimes settle to the bottom of the bowl.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
The candied bacon bats can be stored in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped, for up to 2 days. The glaze will soften and become a little more sticky, but still taste fantastic.
You can reheat the bats (a phrase I never expected to write on this website) in a 325 degree F oven for about 8 minutes, until hot.
FAQs
Can you substitute bat meat for the bacon, for more authenticity?
While we have not personally tested this substitution, it seems doable if you can find a butcher who carries fresh bat.
More Popular Bacon Brunch Recipes
If you love to start the day with delicious bacon, check out these recipes:
Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole with Bacon and Sausage
Mini Quiches with Bacon and Cheddar
If you enjoy this recipe, we would be thrilled if you’d click on the stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below and leave a rating! We love reading your comments, too!
Here’s the full, printable recipe:
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Bacon Bats for Halloween Breakfast
Equipment
- Large skillet
- 1 heatproof spatula
- 1 Pair Kitchen Scissors
- 1 baking sheet
- aluminum foil
- parchment paper
- small bowl and fork for dipping
Ingredients
- 1 pound regular sliced bacon
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 24 candy eyes
Instructions
- Whisk together the brown sugar and maple syrup in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is well blended. Reserve.
- Cook the bacon slices in a large skillet over medium heat until they are browned, but still flexible. Drain the bacon on paper towels.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using kitchen scissors, cut the bacon in bat-shaped pieces. Cut the wider pieces of bacon into curved wings, and cut little round heads with pointed ears from the narrower pieces of bacon. (Eat the scraps or chop them and save them to use as bacon bits.)
- Dip each of the bacon pieces in the maple-brown sugar mixture, shake off excess, and arrange on the parchment lined baking sheet. Lay the wing pieces on top of the head pieces, overlapping slightly and pressing down with the fork so they stick together.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the glaze melts, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
- Dip the candy eyes in the remaining maple syrup glaze and arrange 2 on each bacon bat's head. Use a spatula to remove from the parchment paper and serve. Makes about 12 pieces.
Notes
ADD YOUR OWN PRIVATE NOTES
Whenever you come back to this recipe, you’ll be able to see your notes!
Nutrition
Got questions? Just ask! I’m happy to help.
If you post your creations on social media, tag #BENSABaconLovers so I can share! Thank you for your support. – Eliza
Nutrition Disclaimer: All nutritional information shared on this site is an approximation. I am not a certified nutritionist, and any nutritional information should be used as a general guideline.
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This is such an adorable idea! I usually don’t do anything special for Halloween breakfast, but this year I’ll definitely be making these bacon bats. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you so much! The flavors are perfect!
Perfect Halloween treat. Thanks for sharing.
Okay, these are adorable! My kids are going to love them when I make them on Halloween morning.
I made these today with my boys and they had so much fun. They want to do them again on Halloween. Thanks for the fun idea.
Where were you all those years ago when I needed something cute AND tasty for kids to eat that wasn’t pure sugar! These are so cute!
Thank you, Kathleen! These sweet little bats were fun to create, and tasty, too!
Oh wow, this is a great idea using bacon! The kids will love these and may play with their food like toys – LOL!
Love this Halloween Bacon Bats for Breakfast recipe, perfect for the kiddos and for this season, they look so yummy. Thanks for sharing :)
From the first time I found this recipe I could not wait to make them with the kiddos. Fun project together that ending with a delicious result.
This is such an adorable and delicious breakfast for Halloween!! I know my kids will love this recipe!
Kids had fun making these and eyes were a sweet add on for sure.