Crumble-topped Bacon & Cheddar Muffins: oh my!
We probably don’t eat as much bacon as we’d all like at our house. It’s a conflicted food. There’s the whole nitrites/nitrates thing. And the fat thing. And the getting-as-big-as-a-barn thing. So it’s a confusing food, too. Despite all the bewilderment, we love bacon. It tastes so good. It makes the house smell like heaven. And just a little bit will pack a powerful punch, flavor-wise.
I can tell that you’re squirming a little, since I brought up the awkward nitrates and nitrites issue. Here is what Chris Kesser, a very popular food writer, has to say about limiting your bacon consumption because of the nitrates and nitrites deal: “When it comes to food, vegetables are the primary source of nitrites. On average, about 93% of nitrites we get from food come from vegetables. It may shock you to learn that one serving of arugula, two servings of butter lettuce, and four servings of celery or beets all have more nitrite than 467 hot dogs. And your own saliva has more nitrites than all of them! So before you eliminate cured meats from your diet, you might want to address your celery intake. And try not to swallow so frequently.” haha!! I love that, don’t you?
If you want to read more, here’s the rest of Chris’s post on why you shouldn’t fear bacon. But don’t forget to come back to learn how to make these bacon and cheddar muffins. Oh my. They are so good. And then, you can have a second one without guilt or misgivings.
Maybe even a third.
My daughter Amalia is the Princess of Muffins at our house. I am one blessed mama (actually I guess that would make me the Queen of Muffins), because she is so good at making muffins that I have been forced to completely relinquish that crucial job to her. When she flies this blessed coop for good, I’ll have to remember again how to make muffins, but for now–I’m living in muffin heaven, baby.
Muffin Heaven!
A couple years ago, we participated in a cool local-foods affair, Taste the Bounty of Seward County, and Amalia made her famous mile-high muffins, in three different varieties. No matter what kind of muffin my daughter makes, they turn out to be beautifully shaped–domed, very tall, and the tops cracked just right. She came up with a new recipe for these wonderful crumble-topped bacon and cheddar muffins, and we all agreed (through mouthfuls of muffins and ecstatic rolling of the eyes) that it was a winner, in so many ways.
It’s so easy to make good sweet muffin recipes, but savory muffins are a bit harder to get right, in my opinion. Amalia got these right.
And because I love you, my Gentle Reader, I’ll share Amalia’s recipe with you.
Don’t worry, she gave me permission. 😉
- 8 ounces smoked sliced bacon, fried until crispy, drained, and crumbled
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 2 cups unbleached flour
- 2 tsp sugar
- 5 tsp baking power
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, melted
- For crumble topping: 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
- Preheat oven to 400F. Grease two 12-cup muffin tins.
- First make crumble topping: mix butter and flour, stir in cheeses.
- Mix flours, sugar, baking powder, and mustard in large bowl.
- Stir in parsley, cheddar cheese, and bacon and season to taste with pepper.
- In another bowl, mix together the egg, milk, and melted butter.
- Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix briefly until just combined.
- Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, dividing it evenly, then sprinkle the tops with the crumble mixture.
- Bake in oven for about 20 minutes, or until well risen and lightly browned.
- Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool–although they are best eaten HOT!
This is what you have to look forward to . . . . 🙂
Baconyummmm . . .
Speaking of chickens . . . 🙂 . . . have you taken a look at my new chicken ebook yet? Here’s where you can do that:
- The garage is for what, exactly? Lenten de-cluttering anecdotes
- The Excruciating Sweetness of Spring, and a Secret (shhhh)
20 thoughts on “Crumble-topped Bacon & Cheddar Muffins: oh my!”
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Oh my goodness, two of the basic food groups, bacon and cheese. The only one missing is dark chocolate, but that is dessert. Sounds delicious. I actually had a piece of dark chocolate with bacon in it once, not bad, but these muffins don’t need chocolate. Ymmmm.
Oh my goodness, two basic food groups, bacon and cheese. The only one missing is dark chocolate, but not in these gems. I actually had a piece of dark chocolate with bacon in it once and it was pretty good, but let’s not ruin a good muffin… Ymmm.
Fran, dark chocolate is tasty and actually good for you, too. Maybe eat it on the side, WITH these muffins?
I will give this to my baker.. She is 15 and love cooking and baking.
Good for you, Debbie!
You had me at bacon and I shared (because everyone needs more bacon!)
Thank you, thank you, for sharing, Michelle!
Gorgeous and fabulous photography too, very tempting! I can smell them from here and what a great snack.
~And thank you for the nitrite reassurance!
Thanks Rosemary!
Now I’m hungry. Yummy post
So perfect. Has all the major food groups – bacon, cheese, butter and milk. I wonder how some scallions (green onions), finely chopped, would work in these. Can’t bake right now, but I might just want to find out.
Alana,
Wow, ever since I read your comment, I’ve been thinking about chopped green onions in these muffins. I think that’s a great idea!
First I need to decide if I should take my Simvastatin or eat the muffins. They surely do look tempting. It is sad that tomorrow is one of my 100% raw food days. I do that a couple of days a week. But one of these days when my HDL and LDL are all lined up where my Doctor thinks they should be, I shall need to make these. I love extra sharp cheddar cheese and thick cut bacon but I only have a couple of slices a year and I must save those for the tomato harvest to have my BLT on sour dough……
Now about the nitrates and nitrites, I think that is another reason that you should get the pigs that you wrote about a couple of months ago…raise your own bacon and you can process it without any extra chemicals added.
Chef, I’ll show your comment to my hubby (the one about our own bacon) because I agree! 🙂
Oh wow, my husband will love these, what an indulgence!! With easter coming up it’s a good time to make these for some extra goodies!!
Angel, try them, I’m sure your husband will love them, and you will, too!
They look amazing Amy! I love bacon, I’d probably say that it’s my favourite meat. I’ll have to try and make these sometime!
I love bacon, too, Sophie!
I love savoury muffins, bacon and cheese has got to be one of the greatest combinations ever, ever ever…. Super YUM !
I agree, Anita-Clare!