• Prep. Preheat the oven to 350˚F.

For the Candied Bacon

• Season the bacon. Mix maple syrup, light brown sugar, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Generously rub each slice of bacon with the maple syrup mixture until evenly coated.
• Bake. Arrange strips of bacon on a wire rack; set the wire rack over a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until caramelized. You could also use the air fryer. Let the bacon cool, then roughly chop.

For the Banana Bread

• Sift the dry ingredients. Meanwhile, in a medium-sized bowl, sift (or whisk) together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
• Mix the wet ingredients. Using a spoon, in a large mixing bowl mix together the melted butter and the mashed bananas. Mix in the beaten egg, sugar, peanut butter and vanilla.
• Combine. Continue to stir with the spoon while gradually adding in the flour mixture; mix until well incorporated. Fold in the chopped candied bacon.
• Bake. Pour the mixture into a greased 8x4-inch loaf pan. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes at 350˚F, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes; remove the banana bread from the pan and transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.