Hungry? How does a handful of bacon gumballs sound? Or maybe you’d prefer to finish your meal with a bacon mint? Or nosh on a bacon and maple syrup lollipop?

These days you can down a bacon-infused chocolate bar, clean up with some bacon-flavored dental floss and top off your pig-loving experience with a swipe of bacon-flavored lip balm.

Yes, the addictive meat has leapt out of the early morning hours, transcended the confines of the BLT and gone whole hog for every meal of the day – and the pop culture status that goes right along with ubiquity. There are bacon cookbooks, bacon blogs and various types of merchandise – bacon wallets, bacon belts, bacon T-shirts – that let pork-aholics embrace their love for the strips of meat.

But why has the fatty former breakfast staple become the meat du jour? Lora Wiley, owner of Au Marche, thinks she has an idea why.

“Any trade journal I’ve read talks about how even though the economy is still struggling right now, people need comfort food,” Wiley says. “And people are still willing to pay for candy, and then bacon is, of course, a comfort food.”

Bacon beyond breakfast

That said, it’s no surprise that the top-selling chocolate bar at Au Marche happens to be Mo’s Bacon Bar by Vosges Haut Chocolat. The bar, now in milk and dark chocolate versions, is so popular that Wiley recently began carrying the company’s Bacon Caramel Toffees as well.

Dessert isn’t the only unexpected place where edible bacon – as opposed to the lip balm and dental floss versions – is popping up these days. Over at the Mediterranean-themed Basil Leaf Café, bacon tops more than a third of the dishes – and chef Bradley Walters has a few more bacon dishes in the back of his culinary brain.

“I love bacon – I think it just complements a lot of dishes,” says Walters, who has made bacon ice cream and chocolate-covered bacon for both fun and work. “I love the flavors of it, I like the texture of it, I think it should be a condiment instead of a food group.”

Also of the bacon-as-condiment mindset are Nina Riley and Nancy Griego, Kansas University students and creators of the food blog Nina & Nancy’s Edible Escapades: Tales of the College Cook. The bloggers are huge fans of the meat, using it in everything from pasta to burgers to even stir-fry.

“Have bacon, will eat,” Griego says. “It’s delicious, I’ve always liked it. If it’s in front of me I will eat it. I can usually restrain myself if it’s on someone else’s plate, but you can’t be too careful around me.”

Fat back

Of course, bacon’s popularity hasn’t come with a reduction in its not-so-healthy reputation. It’s still a salted and smoked meat gleaned from the back and sides of a pig. Translation: Bacon is still as fatty as ever – a one-ounce, pan-fried serving packs 149 calories, 17 percent of your daily fat intake (11 grams), 19 percent of your saturated fat (19 percent), 11 percent of your cholesterol and 28 percent of your daily sodium.

Thanks to the heavy dose of fat, bacon lovers may attempt to reduce the health impact their favorite meat has on their bodies. The best known alternative is turkey bacon, which has about two-thirds the calories, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol of regular bacon with nearly the same sodium content. But there are also lesser-known ways to satisfy strong bacon cravings, including the aforementioned bacon lip balm. A review of the 4-pack of J&D’s Bacon Flavored Lip Balm on Amazon.com, claims that by using the product, the reviewer has literally turned his health around. A sample from his five-star review:

“Then a miracle happened… and I found this bacon-flavored lip balm. It’s been a huge relief for me and my family to have this tool to aid in my rehabilitation, similar to my use of nicotine gum when I quit smoking. Thanks are due to the creators of this fine product for saving my life.”

Riley says that’s nice and all, but give her the real stuff, health implications be darned.

“It might be fun to try bacon (lip balm) or bacon ice cream, but I think those things would just make me hungry for more bacon, so why not just consume the real thing?” she says. “You really can do no wrong when it comes to eating bacon.”

Bacon recipes

Bacon Crumble Apple Pie

1/2 lb sliced bacon

1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup light brown sugar

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes

1/2 cup extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

3 golden delicious apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick (about 1 1/2 pounds)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon peel, grated (optional)

1 (9 inch) store-bought pie shells, prebaked according to package

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp; remove bacon, and crumble. Do not drain fat.

In medium bowl, combine the flour and brown sugar, add the butter and, using your fingers, incorporate the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Stir in the bacon and cheese; refrigerate.

Line a baking sheet with foil.

In medium bowl, toss the apples with the granulated sugar. Transfer to the pie shell and sprinkle with the topping.

Place the pie on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

Cover loosely with foil and bake until golden and the apples are tender when pierced, 40-45 minutes.

Let cool before serving.

• Recipe from bacontoday.com.

Avocado Mango Salad

4 slices bacon

1/2 cup hulled, untoasted pumpkinseeds

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

1/3 cup vegetable or olive oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled

Fresh hot green chile to taste, stemmed (optional)

1 tablespoon honey

Salt

1 large head Boston/butter head lettuce, leaves separated

2 large ripe avocados

2 ripe mangos

A generous 1/2 cup coarsely crumbled queso fresco or mild blue cheese (Gorgonzola is great)

Arrange the bacon slices between a double layer of paper towels on a microwavable plate. Microwave on high for 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 minutes, until crispy. Pour the pumpkin seeds into a small skillet and set over medium heat. When the first one pops, stir constantly until all have popped from flat to round, about 5 minutes. Scoop about 1/3 of them into a blender jar and add the lime juice. Pour the remainder into a small dish.

Return the skillet to medium heat and measure in the oil. Add the garlic and optional chile. Cook, stirring regularly, until the garlic is soft and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Scrape the oil and garlic into the blender or food processor. Add the honey and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Process until smooth. Taste and season with more salt if you think necessary. (Remember: it should be highly seasoned.)

Divide the lettuce between four dinner plates. Pit and peel the avocado, then cut it into slices. Peel the mango, then cut the flesh from the pit. Slice to match the avocado pieces. Arrange the avocado and mango in the center of the lettuce. Drizzle everything with the dressing, then sprinkle with the cheese and toasted pumpkin seeds.

Crumble the bacon and strew it over the top, and the salad is ready.

• Recipe from bacontoday.com

Bacon Maple Cupcakes

4 1/2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1/2 tablespoon bacon drippings (left in the fridge to become solid)

1 egg

5 tablespoons brown sugar

4 tablespoons maple syrup

1 1/4 cups self rising flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Tiny tiny pinch kosher salt

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup of minced bacon, cooked and drained

Cook some bacon in a fry pan (about 6 thick strips). Reserve the drippings and place in the fridge to solidify. Mince 1/4 a cup of the bacon. The chef should eat whatever is left to assure that the bacon is tasty.

Beat the crud out of the butter and solidified bacon fat ’till light and creamy. Add the brown sugar and maple syrup and beat well until combined.

Add the egg and beat until incorporated.

Sift the flour, salt, baking soda and powder together.

Add some of the flour and mix, then some of the milk, then continue to alternate the dry and wet ingredients, ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in the bacon. Taste and add more maple syrup, flour, or milk if needed for desired taste. Keep in mind the maple frosting is very sweet, and to add in very small increments for alterations as maple syrup in large amounts can break a cake batter.

Scoop into cupcake papers and bake at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Be sure to rotate the pan after the first 15 minutes for even baking.

Maple syrup frosting

4 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of maple syrup

1 cup of powdered sugar

Turbinado sugar (optional, but recommended)

Coarse grain sea salt (optional, but recommended)

Combine the syrup and butter until combined. Add the sugar, a bit at a time, and whip at high speeds until combined. Pipe or spread onto cupcakes. Sprinkle on sea salt and turbinado sugar for decoration and a lot of added flavor.

• Recipe from bacontoday.com