Bacon Pear Cinnamon Rolls

Preheat oven to 325°F. Cover a cookie sheet with foil and arrange the bacon in a single layer and bake for 25 minutes. (The bacon should be on the soft side since you will be baking it again later.) Place bacon on a paper towel to drain. When bacon is cool enough to handle, roughly chop the bacon and set aside.

Put diced pears in a small bowl and add half of the maple syrup and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Stir to combine. Add about ½ tablespoon of the rendered bacon fat to a saute pan and saute the pears on medium high for about 3 minutes or until they start to soften.

Place cream cheese, brown sugar, remaining cinnamon and remaining maple syrup in a medium bowl. Use a hand mixer to combine the ingredients until smooth. Reserve ¼ cup of the cream cheese mixture to top the baked cinnamon rolls.

Unroll the crescent dough on a Silpat, parchment paper or wax paper. Press along the perforations to seal the crescent dough. Spread half of the cream cheese mixture on the dough. Top with half of the bacon and pears. Reserve about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the pecans for the topping and sprinkle half of the remaining pecans on the dough. Roll the crescent dough up, starting from the long side. Use the Silpat to help you roll the dough. Using scissors, cut the roll into 8 equal pieces. Repeat this step with the other crescent dough.

Coat a round pan with cooking spray (9 or 10-inch pan). Place the 16 rolls into the round pan. Bake at 375°F for 19 to 21 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and top with remaining cream cheese spread and toasted pecans.

This can be assembled the night before and baked the next day.