Roasted Peach and Bacon Muffins #MuffinMonday

Roasted peach and bacon muffins are sort of sweet and sort of savory, really the best of both worlds. 

It’s Muffin Monday again! And also Memorial Day in the United States, which is the day we remember and honor those who have died in active service in any branch of the United States military. Many families take advantage of the three-day weekend to gather for reunions or to hold family celebrations. And, of course, this time of year is also all about graduations and graduation parties. So many opportunities to bake and share muffins with your friends and loved ones!

If you are a fan of sweet and salty treats, you are going to love these roasted peach and bacon muffins. Don’t forget to scroll down to see all the other bacon and peach wonderfulness that my fellow Muffin Monday bakers are sharing. We didn’t plan the theme but after everyone else had added their titles to our group, I was motivated to create a muffin that would fit in.

Ingredients
6 slices thick cut streaky bacon
2 peaches – just ripe but not soft
Pinch flakey sea salt
2 cups or 250g all purpose flour
1/3 cup or 66g brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup or 180 ml milk
1/3 cup or 80ml bacon fat (rendered from frying the bacon) plus extra for greasing pan (or use butter or oil)
2 large eggs

Method
Fry the bacon slices until crispy and remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. Leave the bacon fat in the pan to cool.

Preheat your oven to 425°F or 218°C.

Cut your peaches in half and remove the pits. Slice them in wedges.

Place the wedges on a baking pan. Use a spoon to drizzle some bacon fat over each peach wedge. Sprinkle them with a pinch of flakey sea salt.

Roast in your preheated oven for about 8-10 minutes and then turn the wedges over and roast for a further 5 minutes.

After turning them over.

Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. They are going to be pretty soft at this point. Use a metal spatula to scrape them up. Reduce heat of the oven to 350°F or 180°C.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together.

Chop the peaches and the bacon into pieces, setting aside 12 bits of each for topping the muffins before baking.

Add your chopped peaches to the flour and use a fork to mix them in and separate them from each other, coating them with flour.

In another bowl, whisk together milk, bacon fat and eggs.

Add all the milk mixture to flour mixture.

Gently fold just until dry ingredients are moistened. There should still be some flour showing. Then fold in your bigger pile of bacon.

Generously grease cups (I used bacon grease but you can use oil or butter) and top of 12-cup muffin pan.

Divide your batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups.  Top each with a piece of the reserved bacon and roasted peaches.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until muffins are golden.

Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before removing muffins from pan.

Enjoy!

If you are a fan of bacon or peaches, this is going to be your favorite Muffin Monday so far! Check out all the great combinations we have for you this month.

• Bacon and Caramelized Vidalia Onion Corn Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Bacon and Roquefort Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Fresh Chive and Ricotta Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts
• Roasted Peach and Bacon Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Peach Cobbler Muffins from Making Miracles
• Spicy Zucchini Bacon Cheese Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

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Bacon Potato Silver Dollar Pancakes #BreadBakers

Bacon Potato Silver Dollar Pancakes are made with mashed potato, crispy bacon and green onions, stirred into pancake batter and cooked on a griddle until golden. These make an excellent breakfast or snack. So good!

 

Happy Valentine's Day! We don't really celebrate the holiday by doing anything special but we do like to open a good bottle of wine and enjoy a tasty meal at home. If you don't know what to serve your special someone, these silver dollar pancakes would be great as an appetizer topped with a slice of goat cheese and a sprinkle more of green onion.

Bacon Potato Silver Dollar Pancakes

I cheat for these and use the pre-cooked real bacon crumbles from Costco. I fry them a little bit more and drain on paper towels to get rid of more bacon fat. According to the interwebs, one half cup of bacon crumbles is the result of frying 8 slices of regular (not thick cut) bacon.

Ingredients for about 27 silver dollar pancakes

1/2 cup or 60g cooked smoked bacon, chopped in bits

1 cup or 125g flour

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Fresh black pepper

1/2 cup or 120ml sour cream

1/2 cup or 120ml milk

1 large egg

Rounded 3/4 cup or 200g leftover mashed potatoes 

1/4 oz or 7g green onions, plus more to serve, if desired

Method

Combine the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and a few generous grinds of fresh black pepper in a large mixing bowl. Add in the crispy bacon and stir well.

Whisk the mashed potato, egg, sour cream and milk together in a smaller mixing bowl.  

Now fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Add the green onion tops and fold again.

Lightly grease your griddle by brushing it with a little oil or bacon fat.

Spoon batter onto the griddle to make 5-6 little pancakes. You could fit more on there but then they'd be a challenge to turn over. 

When they have browned on one side, turn them over with a spatula to brown on the other. This takes just a few minutes over a medium flame.

Remove to a plate and keep warm as you cook the rest of the pancake batter in similar batches. 

We ate these plain and they were delicious just like that but the goat’s cheese circles added a great punch of flavor, served with a glass of crisp rosé. 

Enjoy! 

It’s National Potato Lovers Month so my Bread Bakers are creating their recipes with the humble potato. Check them out in the links below. 

• Bacon Potato Silver Dollar Pancakes from Food Lust People Love
• Baked Vada Pav from Cook with Renu
• Feather Rolls from A Messy Kitchen
• Loaded Baked Potato Pizza from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Okinawan Sweet Potato Pani Popo from Magical Ingredients
• Potato Bread with Roasted Apples from What Smells So Good?
• Potato Crescent Rolls from Passion Kneaded
• Potato Dinner Rolls from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sweet Potato Biscuits from The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Turkish Stuffed Pogaca with Cheese & Potato from Sneha’s Recipe

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin these Bacon Potato Silver Dollar Pancakes!

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Sweet Corn Bacon Skillet Cookie #CreativeCookieExchange

This sweet corn bacon skillet cookie is the perfectly sweet and salty combination adored in Momofuku corn cookies, made more delicious with the addition of bacon. And made easier as one big cookie to slice and serve.

A couple of years back, my elder daughter introduced me to what was then her new favorite cookie. Rich, buttery, sweet but a bit salty, those Momofuku corn cookies were chewy and completely more-ish. When this month’s Creative Cookie Exchange theme of “Big Cookies” was announced, I couldn’t wait to recreate them as a cast iron skillet cookie and, of course, add some bacon.

Because bacon makes everything better.

Sweet Corn Bacon Skillet Cookie

This recipe is adapted from my version of the original Momofuku corn cookies. If you like salty and sweet together, make the originals or make my bacon version. This is going to be your new favorite cookie too!

Ingredients - Makes 1 (12 in or 30.5cm) skillet cookie
3 slices or 75g smoked bacon, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons rendered bacon fat
3/4 cup or 170g room-temperature butter
1 1/2 cups or 300g sugar
1 egg
1 3/4 cups or 220g all-purpose flour
1/2 cup or 65g freeze-dried corn powder (See note below)
1/4 cup or 45g corn flour (corn masa flour, like you’d use for tortillas, not corn starch. You can also use Harina P.A.N.*
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine sea salt

Note: I used Karen’s Freeze Dried Corn* in this recipe, measuring out 65g and then blitzing it into powder using a food processor.

Method
Fry bacon bits in your iron skillet until just crispy. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons rendered bacon fat to use in the dough. Wipe the skillet with a paper towel so it’s just greased enough to bake the big cookie. Set aside.

Use a stand or handheld electric beaters to cream the butter and sugar together on medium high until they are fluffy and pale yellow, about 2-3 minutes.

Add in the bacon fat and egg and mix them in with the beaters on low. Increase the speed to medium high again and beat for eight minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula.

Whisk the dry ingredients together in another bowl. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the bacon bits and then mix the rest into the flour.

Add all of the dry ingredients into the other mixing bowl and with your mixer or beaters on low, beat just until it all comes together as a dough.

Cover your work surface with cling film and tip the dough out onto it. Press the dough into a circle of about 11 inches or 30cm across. Cover it with another piece of cling film and smooth out the surface. Slide the dough circle onto a cutting board or baking pan and chill thoroughly in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

As you come to the end of the chilling time, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Remove the cling film and ease the dough circle into your iron skillet greased with bacon fat. Sprinkle on the reserved bacon and pat the pieces in gently so they stick.

Bake for 18-22 minutes, turning the skillet around halfway through to make sure that cookie bakes evenly.

Leave the cookie to cool in the iron skillet. You can serve straight from skillet or turn it out onto a serving plate. Cut it into wedges with a sharp knife.

Enjoy!

* Amazon affiliate links

Many thanks to this month's host, Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories! Check out the other Big Cookies you'll want to make:

• Big O Cookies from All That's Left Are the Crumbs
• Kitchen Sink Cookies from The Spiced Life
• Levain Bakery Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Sweet Corn Bacon Skillet Cookie from Food Lust People Love

Creative Cookie Exchange is hosted by Laura of The Spiced Life. We get together once a month to bake cookies with a common theme or ingredient so Creative Cookie Exchange is a great resource for cookie recipes. Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board. We post the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month!

Pin it!

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Caramelized Onion Smoked Cheese and Bacon Muffins #MuffinMonday

I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it but I belong to an online community called Chowhounds.  Perhaps you’ve heard of it.  Or even belong yourself.  Chowhounds live all over the world and get together in forums categorized by either location or interest.  You can sign up to get emails about trending discussions with articles from Chowhound writers about a myriad of food related topics or you can go directly to the forums to interact. And it's all free!  I’ve received (and given) advice about ingredients and restaurants and cooking methods over the last couple of years, but my favorite part of Chowhound is finding out about new ingredients.

Last spring, just before I was headed to Providence to spend Spring Break with my daughters, I read about bacon salt in a Chowhound email.  It wasn't so new, just new to me!  All natural, smoky bacon flavored salt that is vegetarian.  I was so excited!  Because, as you have read here, both daughters (and many of their friends) are vegetarian.  When I cook for them, I miss the addition of bacon for depth and flavor.  Especially in dishes with beans.  Here, finally, was my answer!

Caramelized Onion Smoked Cheese and Bacon Muffins

This week’s Muffin Monday recipe was for a cheese onion muffin and I really wanted to add in bacon, but I have been sending these off to the office with my husband (apparently Sundays are their favorite day now) and several of his colleagues don’t eat pork.  Bacon salt to the rescue!  I made the batter with the bacon salt and then added the optional bacon into the batter once some of the muffin cups had been filled.  So, everyone could have a muffin!

Ingredients
5-6 slices or rashers smoked bacon (optional)
2 medium onions
Olive oil
2/3 cup or 150ml canola or other light oil
1 1/8 cup or 265ml buttermilk
1 large egg
3 cups or 375g flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon bacon salt or substitute Maldon Smoked Sea Salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
150g mature cheddar
280g smoked cheese

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 12-cup muffin tin by lightly rubbing it with oil or use non-stick spray to coat.  (My batter actually made 16 muffins, which makes me begin to wonder if my muffin tin is not a tiny bit smaller than normal size.  It’s been happening a lot lately.)

Grate your sharp cheddar cheese and cut the smoked cheese into cubes.

Fry your bacon in a skillet and drain on some paper towels.  Chop it into little pieces and set aside.

Slice the onions thinly and pop them in the bacon pan with a small drizzle of olive oil.  (You can leave some of the bacon grease if dietary restrictions allow but I washed the pan out and used just olive oil.)  Cook over a slow to medium fire, stirring frequently, until the onions are lovely and golden and caramelized.  Do be careful not to burn them.  Once they are done, take the pan off the heat and allow the onions to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, salt, smoked paprika, baking powder and baking soda.  Add in the grated cheddar and give the whole thing a good stir.

Whisk the oil, egg and buttermilk in a smaller bowl and add in about two-thirds of the cooled onions.  Stir well.

Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ones and stir a couple of times.  Add in the smoked cheese cubes and fold to combine.

If all of your muffins will have bacon, fold the chopped bits in as well, reserving 12-16 small pieces to add to the tops before baking.  If you are making some vegetarian (and halal) muffins, spoon some of the batter into the prepared muffin cups before adding the bacon.

Divide the rest of the batter between the muffin cups and top with some caramelized onions and then the reserved bacon bits (only on the muffins that have bacon inside, obviously – because then the muffin eaters can choose wisely.)

Bake in your preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Allow the muffins to cool for a few minutes then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Thanks to the flavored salt, smoked cheese and smoked paprika, these are cheesy and smoky and delicious, with or without the bacon!

Enjoy!

The deliciousness of the crunchy outside is only rivaled by the cheesiness of the wonderful inside. 

Brown Sugar Bacon Cookies #CreativeCookieExchange

A perfect blend of savory and sweet, the hint of smoky saltiness in these brown Sugar Bacon Cookie complements the dark rich flavor of the brown sugar. But make no mistake, Brown Sugar Bacon Cookies are totally drop sugar cookies, baked to be enjoyed with a cold glass of milk.



If you’ve heard me say it once, you’ve heard me say it a thousand times. I love bacon. Also, I’m not much of a sweet eater. That doesn’t stop me making sweet recipes, of course. I have a core group of tasters that are always ready and willing to eat whatever I bring round or send to the office with my husband. If the goods get eaten, I’m happy.

I did bring some of these cookies out for a test run and I got a few skeptical looks when I said brown sugar AND bacon. It was a mixed crowd of thumbs up and down. But, you know what? I truly didn’t mind. I have since eaten the balance of that dozen singlehandedly. I think they are amazing.

Ingredients - for 3 dozen cookies
3 cups or 375g all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup or 170g unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup or 60g strained bacon fat (see instructions below)
1 1/2 cups packed or 300g dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon bourbon
15 slices thin cut bacon, fried till crispy, then drained - 3/4 cup chopped bacon or 75g

To strain bacon fat, pull a paper towel apart so you have only one-ply.
Line a metal strainer with the paper towel and place the strainer into the top of a funnel, with the funnel in a sealable jar. You will need to prop the strainer handle up on something sturdy to get it balance securely.
Pour your warm (not hot!) bacon grease into the paper-lined strainer a little at a time, scraping your frying pan to get every bit of grease out. Leave to drain completely.
All of the browned bits stay in the paper towel and the bacon grease in the jar is clean, almost white.
This bacon fat keeps in the refrigerator, covered, for months. This works with beef or lamb drippings too, if you want to make your own tallow.

Method
With beaters or with your stand mixer, beat the butter, bacon fat and brown sugar together until fluffy.

Butter on the left. Strained bacon fat on the right.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between additions.

Add in the bourbon and mix again.

Turn the mixer off and sift the flour, soda and salt together into the bowl. Turn the mixer on sloooooowly to mix in the dry ingredients. Keep mixing until all is incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl down once or twice.

Reserve about 1/3 of the bacon pieces for poking into the top of each cookie, and stir the rest into the cookie dough.

Cover the bowl with cling film and chill the dough for 30 minutes.

Before you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180° and line your cookie sheet with baking parchment or a silicone liner.

Use a tablespoon or a cookie scoop to drop small balls of cookie dough a good distance apart to allow room for spreading.

Top each scoop with a couple of pieces of bacon and use a fork to just flatten the balls.

Bake in your preheated oven for 12-14 minutes or until the cookies are slightly browned around the edges. If your oven heats unevenly, you might want to turn the pan around halfway through.

Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Repeat until all the brown sugar bacon cookies are baked.

Enjoy!

This month my Creative Cookie Exchange group is making drop cookies, which are exactly what they sound like. Drop cookies are made by dropping the dough on to a baking pan with a spoon or scoop and they are probably one of the easiest types of cookie to make. No fancy rolling or forming or slicing necessary. Drop cookies are usually pretty rustic looking too, especially if you are using a tablespoon.

Many thanks to our Creative Cookie Exchange member Holly from A Baker's House who handled our behind the scenes work this month. Check out all the lovely drop cookies we’ve been baking!

• Banana Walnut Cookies by Upstate Ramblings
• Brown Sugar Bacon Cookies by Food Lust People Love
• Chocolate Chip Cookies with Thyme Infused Browned Butter by The Spiced Life
• Chocolate-Toffee Crinkle Cookies by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Morning Glory Breakfast Cookies by A Shaggy Dough Story
• Old Fashioned Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Cookies by Oven Delights
• Peanut Butter and Banana Cookies by 2 Cookin Mamas
• Peanut Butter Graham Cookies (with Tallow!) by What Smells so Good?
• Pumpkin Spice Mocha Crinkle Cookies by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Reese's Pieces Cookies by A Baker's House
• Salted Caramel Nutella Cookies by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks

Creative Cookie Exchange is hosted by Laura of The Spiced Life. We get together once a month to bake cookies with a common theme or ingredient so Creative Cookie Exchange is a great resource for cookie recipes. Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts at The Spiced Life. We post the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month!

Pin Brown Sugar Bacon Cookies! 

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