Bacon Cheddar Crumble Muffins

This week I joined a gym and am impressed with how often I have gone.  I really love the group fitness classes and even woke up at 6:00 this morning to go to a spin class! As a reward and to balance out all those calories burned, I made Bacon Cheddar Crumble Muffins.

These are definitely the tastiest muffins I have made in a long time.  I love making muffins because they are such an easy breakfast or snack to grab when I have a busy day.  I was super excited when my friend sent me a cookbook in the mail called Muffins Galore.  It’s filled with really great ideas, but I’m afraid I may have already made the best recipe from it.

Savory muffins are a nice change from the usual, sweet, cake-like ones, and these particular muffins are nice and hearty from the bacon and whole wheat flour.  My favorite part of these muffins, however, is not the bacon.  It is the savory crumble on top.  You blend finely grated cheddar cheese, butter and flour into a crumbly mixture and sprinkle it on top before they are baked.  I can think of so many different uses for it.  It would add great flavor and texture to any other savory baked good, and I can’t wait to try it as a topping for macaroni and cheese.

adapted from Muffins Galore

4 oz bacon, cooked, drained, and crumbled
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
4 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp freshly grated black pepper
1 egg
1 1/4 cup milk
6 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled

Crumble Topping:
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup finely grated cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.  Grease a 12 cup muffin pan or use paper liners.
2. For the crumble topping, rub butter into the flour in a small bowl until it is mealy but still has some large crumbs.  Blend in cheddar cheese.  Set aside.
3. Mix flours, sugar, baking powder, mustard and salt together in a large bowl.  Stir in cheddar cheese, parsley, and bacon.  Add black pepper.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together egg, milk and melted butter.  Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently with a rubber spatula, just until mixed.
5. Spoon batter (I like to use an ice-cream scoop) into muffin cups and sprinkle the crumble mixture over tops.  Bake in oven for about 20 minutes or until lightly brown and well risen.  Cool in pan for a couple minutes and then turn onto wire rack.  Eat warm, or reheated in microwave for 10 seconds.

Banana Muffins with Nutella Frosting

Cold showers are not much fun.  John and I are on day five without hot water.  My list of excuses for not taking one is getting longer and more unreasonable than it normally is.  For example: “I don’t need a shower because the dog still smells worse than me.”

We can’t get the gas company to turn the correct meter on.  I’m not sure how it could be so difficult since there are only two meters.  Also, what’s up with them saying someone will show up between 7 and 5.  That’s 10 hours!  Can’t they narrow it down a little?!

Sorry, but now that that’s off my chest, John and I made it to DC!  We are so excited to be here and love our new home.  Even though it’s a basement apartment, there’s lots of light, high ceilings and plenty of room.  We are settling in slowly, making lots of trips to IKEA and hanging out at the park most days.  The weather is great; I can’t wait for Fall to come and to see snow again.

We are just a few blocks from Lincoln Park, which is great because Motu loves it.  People go and just let their dogs off their leashes to run around and play.  That is, until someone yells “Park Police! Grab your dogs!”  Apparently, it’s not a city-sanctioned dog park, just a gathering of law-skirting citizens who want their dogs to leave them alone for a little bit.

It’s a great place to meet people, however.  In the half-dozen times John and I have been there, we’ve met a Gator alumnus (I could tell because Motu was playing with his dogs and they were wearing Gator collars), a fellow Art Institute culinary student and a friend I know from working in Moorea.

These muffins are one of the last things I made before leaving Gainesville.  They may look like cupcakes, but the cake part is not too sweet and really, neither is the frosting.

Since I made the muffins as is from Simply Recipes (without the nuts) and they were great, I will just link to it.  And the frosting is only three ingredients with the amounts based on taste preference, so lucky me, I don’t have to type much up!

Banana Muffins with Nutella Frosting

Banana Muffins from Simply Recipes

Nutella Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup Nutella, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners sugar, more or less to taste.
Banana chips (optional)

Beat cream cheese in electric mixer with paddle attachment until smooth and a little fluffy.  Add Nutella and beat until well mixed.  Add confectioners sugar (turn off mixer, add sugar, then turn back on slowly) until incorporated.  Mix on medium high until lighter in color and texture.  Let sit in fridge for 10-20 minutes until it firms up.  I put mine in a zip-lock bag and cut off one of the corners so I could pipe it on the muffins.  Garnish with banana chips if you like.