15 Ways To Stuff Your Face With Pumpkin And Bacon At The Same Time

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Frosting and Bacon

Tim McGeever|Oct. 19, 2012 12:07 pm EST

You know that feeling — usually on Mondays — when all you can think about is how to get pumpkin and bacon in your mouth at the same time? We sure do.

Bacon, as we all know, is America's sweetheart. It sweats grease, looks like tree bark, and tastes like a clogged artery (mmmm). Then, with a gust of wind and a new pair of tights, in sweeps our annual pumpkin fixation. We put it in our coffee, in our bread, in our pies. Rich people put it in their ravioli. Female people drive an hour to take a picture of their baby on top of one. People with time on their hands take a knife to the shell, carve out a facial expression, and put the onward-rotting vegetable on their porches. The local Trader Joe's even sold out of their pumpkin pancake and waffle mix. A woman cried.

What we're trying to say is that pumpkin and bacon are what unites this country. So why not unite them, right?

Luckily, people like us (who get the Monday feeling), have already been creating clever recipes that marry the two. One guy even wrapped a whole pumpkin in bacon, just because. You can't eat it, but who cares? Over the past week, The Daily Meal has been tracking down the most epic, succulent, goose-bumping, jaw-to-the-floor, eyes-tearing, smile-cracking dishes that involve pumpkin and bacon.

So, here you go, 15 ridiculously awesome ways to take October's girlfriend, the pumpkin, and mix it up with the perennial mouthwatering favorite, bacon. Enjoy, and if you have some more ideas, please share them with us!

1. Pumpkin Caramel Bars with Bacon