Maple Bacon Muffins (Small Batch)
I love a good muffin for breakfast and better yet I love a seasonally-appropriate muffin, like these amazing Maple Bacon Muffins. Yeah I said it. These muffins are a product of my fall breakfast dreams. Dense and sweet maple muffins meet bits of bacon for the perfect little sweet and salty twist on a classic muffin.
Trust me on this one ..
This maple bacon muffin might sound like a weird combination, but trust me on this one. It’s amazing. Think of your classic breakfast plate: pancakes, maple syrup and crispy bacon. Now just picture all of that mixed together to get a maple bacon breakfast muffin. Once you try it, you won’t go back!
What Maple to Use in Baking
Before we start on the muffins, let’s talk maple. The first thing you probably think of is the sugary, thick maple syrup you drizzle over pancakes. However, that syrup doesn’t really make an appearance in cooking or baking. When maple is called for in a recipe, it’s most likely going to be grade A pure maple syrup. The difference between classic pancakes maple syrup and pure maple syrup lies mainly in the contents: pancake syrup’s got a ton of extra ingredients, which yields a more artificial flavor, while pure maple syrup is 100% maple, nothing more and nothing less.
So again, when using maple in a recipe, shoot for Grade A pure maple syrup for the best results.
How to Make Maple Bacon Muffins
Step 1: Cook the Bacon
The main thing to prep is the bacon. Cook it how you usually cook it – in the microwave, in the oven, on the stove. Just get that bacon cooked and crisp and set it aside on a paper towel to drain off some of the grease. Once cool, chop the bacon (or just break it apart with your hands) into small pieces.
Step 2: Mix the Muffin Batter
Next is the actual muffin batter. It’s a super simple maple-based muffin, so we start by whisking together melted butter, a bit of brown sugar, pure maple syrup, milk, vanilla and an egg. Then fold in flour, salt and baking powder. Mix just a few times, to start incorporating the flour. Then add in the abcon pieces and mix a few more times. Muffin batter should be a little lumpy and the flour shouldn’t be 100% mixed in, as overmixing can create a stiff muffin. And we want fluffy muffins this fall. So don’t overmix!
Step 3: Bake the Maple Bacon Muffins
Once the batter is made, add the batter evenly into a greased or paper-lined 6-cup muffin pan. Bake for 16-19 minutes, until the edges are set, the muffins are golden brown and the dome is firm and pushes back a little when pressed gently.
Thanks so much for stopping by! If you make this recipe or have any questions, let me know! Leave a comment below or tag me @annietortellini on Instagram!
Maple Bacon Muffins
Ingredients
- ¼ C butter melted
- ½ C brown sugar
- ¼ C pure maple syrup
- ¼ C milk
- 1 egg
- 1 C flour
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 C cooked and crumbled bacon about 6-8 pieces
Instructions
- Cook the Bacon: Lay the pieces of bacon in a cold pan and turn the heat on to medium low. Cook until the bacon browns on both sides, about 7-10 minutes total, and drain on a paper towel. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a 6-tin muffin tin or line it with muffin liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, milk and egg.
- Add in the flour, baking powder and salt and fold everything together gently. When the mixture is about halfway incorporated, add in the cooked and crumbled bacon. Mix until the flour is mostly incorporated. It's totally okay if there's still some lumps or streaks of flour (we actually prefer it as overmixing will produce a stiff muffin).
- Add the batter evenly into each muffin tin. Bake for 18-22 minutes until the edges are dry and golden brown and the top bounces back (doesn't sink) when gently pressed.
