Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire cooling rack in the baking sheet.
Lay the bacon strips on the rack crosswise, making sure they don’t overlap at all; it’s ok if they are just touching. Lightly and evenly sprinkle the brown sugar over the strips of bacon, using about 1 teaspoon per strip. Very lightly dust a bit of black pepper and also some cayenne, if desired, on each strip.
Bake for about 25 minutes, until the sugar is melted and the bacon is a deep mahogany brown and fairly crisp. You may want to check midway through the baking to see if the bacon is cooking evenly; if there are areas that seem to be cooking faster than others, rotate the pan in the oven. Remember that the bacon will continue to crisp up a bit as it cools.
Let the bacon cool on the rack for at least 3 minutes; that caramelized sugar is hot, and you could burn your mouth if you can’t resist for a few minutes! You can do it!
Notes
You can use thick or thin sliced bacon, but I prefer thicker slices, which have a more toothsome bite, even while the outside gets that burnished, crisp exterior. As you would expect, thinner slices will crisp up faster. You should watch to make sure the bacon doesn’t tip over from crisp to burned.