Candied Bacon Pinwheels.

Sweet and savory, these cute Candied Bacon Pinwheels are the holiday appetizer everyone will be asking for year after year. They’re quick, easy to make ahead, and SO delicious. Flaky puff pastry rolled up with sweet and spicy candied bacon, seasoned with cayenne pepper and fresh rosemary, plus plenty of sharp cheddar cheese. Each pinwheel is baked until golden and crisp, then finished with just a tiny drizzle of honey. There never seems to be enough of these! Perfect for both Thanksgiving and Christmas entertaining.

This year, the holiday season is feeling extra fun. From what I can tell, everyone is embracing holiday parties, entertaining more than ever, and getting into the kitchen to cook for family and friends. And honestly, that makes me smile from ear to ear.

To me, this is what the holiday season is all about. Celebrating with the people we love most, whether that’s your big, crazy family or your closest girlfriends. Inviting everyone over, getting dressed up in something festive, and enjoying good food and even better company!

And when it comes to entertaining, there’s one thing we all need: simple recipes that everyone will love. They need to be quick to make, easy to prepare, and, of course, SCRUMPTIOUSLY delicious.

So many holiday parties start with appetizers, and some parties are all about the appetizers!

I love a great cheese board, and I’m always a sucker for anything with brie. But I also have a serious love for sweet and spicy candied bacon. I try to work it into my holiday appetizer lineup every single year.

These pinwheels are my latest favorite. They’re simple to make, have the best combination of sweet, salty, spicy, and cheesy flavors, and everyone gobbles them right up.

My advice? Double the recipe. They disappear so fast!

Here Are the Details

Ingredients

• cayenne pepper
• smoked paprika
• thin-cut bacon
• brown sugar
• fresh rosemary
• puff pastry sheets
• an egg
• spicy or sharp cheddar cheese

For Serving

• honey
• flaky sea salt

The Steps

Step 1: Start with the bacon.

Use thin-cut bacon for this recipe. Thick-cut bacon won’t roll up as easily, and we want the bacon to get nice and crisp inside the pastry.

Mix together the fresh rosemary, cayenne pepper, and smoked paprika. Sprinkle the brown sugar and half of the spice mixture over the bacon, then bake until the bacon just begins to caramelize. This only takes a few minutes. You don’t want the bacon too crispy yet, or it won’t roll up easily!

I love the combination of sweet brown sugar, spicy cayenne, and fresh rosemary. It’s so yummy, especially around the holidays.

Step 2: The puff pastry.

Store-bought puff pastry is our shortcut here. It makes these SO easy!

Roll out both sheets on a lightly floured counter. Brush each sheet with beaten egg, then sprinkle with sharp cheddar cheese and the remaining spice mixture.

Don’t skip the sharp cheddar! You can even use a mix of sharp cheddar and spicy cheddar. The salty cheese paired with the sweet bacon is what makes these so good.

Step 3: Make the pinwheels.

Arrange the strips of bacon over each pastry sheet. Cut the pastry into strips around the bacon, then roll each strip up into a cute little pinwheel.

Place the pinwheels on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for 10–20 minutes. This helps the pastry hold its shape and bake up extra flaky.

And here’s the best part! You can do everything up to this point a day ahead. Just cover the pinwheels and keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to bake. You can even freeze them and bake straight from frozen. So perfect for holiday parties!

Step 4: Bake and serve!

Bake until the pastry is golden and crisp, the cheddar is melted, and the bacon is caramelized.

As soon as the pinwheels come out of the oven, finish with a tiny drizzle of honey, fresh rosemary, and flaky sea salt.

I love serving these warm on a pretty platter with a little bowl of honey on the side. They’re cute, festive, and so easy for guests to grab while chatting.

And one last thing, definitely double the recipe!

My brothers are always the first to go for anything with bacon. And if there’s cheese involved too, forget it. I can pretty much guarantee the platter will be empty before dinner even starts. That’s always the problem with appetizers at our house. Everyone fills up before we even sit down!

These are especially fun for Christmas parties, but I love them for Thanksgiving too. You can have everything ready to go, pop them in the oven just before guests arrive, and serve them warm.

They’re just GOOD!