Bacon, Cheese, & Maple Syrup Muffins

When I first saw the title for these muffins, I thought they were going to be really unpleasant. I mean, pairing bacon with cheese and maple syrup? That was just too much of strange combination. As I was making these Bacon, Cheese, & Maple Syrup Muffins, I'd try the batter here and there, and the flavor combination wasn't that bad. Once in the oven, the smell they were giving off were was amazing! After cooling them a bit, I drizzled a bit of maple syrup and wow! The taste was really good and savory; the cheese and bacon flavors meshed well, and the maple syrup added nice sweet touch to these muffins. These muffins from 100 Magnificent Muffins & Scones by Felicity Barnum-Bobb should be served warm though. One thing I'd change is drizzling maple syrup on them upon being served, as opposed to drizzling them before storing them.

I first microwaved the chopped bacon pieces.

Once the bacon was cooked, I mixed it with flour, baking powder, salt, and cheddar cheese.

In a separate bowl, I combined sunflower oil, egg, maple syrup, and skim milk.

This was how the batter looked like after mixing.

This batter only makes enough for 8, but I got 9.

They didn't get golden. Maybe they would've if I would've left them more in the oven, but then they would've been over baked.

I put them on a rack on top of aluminum foil in order to drizzle on the maple syrup.

I drizzled it on but it just slid down onto the foil.

You can kind of see the traces of maple syrup on the tops of the muffins.

Bacon, Cheese, & Maple Syrup Muffins
*makes 8 muffins*

Ingredients:
4 slices smoked Canadian bacon, chopped
scant 1 1/4 cups self-rising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
5 tbsp sunflower oil
1 egg
4 tbsp maple syrup
2/3 cup skim milk

Directions:
1) Heat the oven to 400F. Line a muffin pan with 8 paper liners.
2) Microwave the bacon uncovered on an ovenproof plate on high (850W) for 3 minutes until cooked and becoming crispy. (Or dry-roast in a nonstick frying pan.)
3) Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Stir in the bacon and cheese. Make a well in the center.
4) Pour the oil, egg, half the maple syrup, and the milk into a pitcher and mix together, then pour into the well, in the center. Mix together briefly until just combined.
5) Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin liners and bake for 15 minutes, or until risen, firm, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
6) Serve warm, drizzled with the remaining maple syrup.



Recipe from 100 Magnificent Muffins & Scones by Felicity Barnum-Bobb