Maple Bacon Muffin
intro
Tender, sweet-savory muffins loaded with smoky crisp bacon and real maple syrup, perfect for a cozy, portable bite for breakfast or potlucks.
Ingredients
Steps
Cook crisp bacon
Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 120g (8 strips) thick-cut bacon in a single layer, cook for 4 minutes per side until deeply golden and crisp. Transfer bacon to a paper-towel lined plate to drain, then chop into 0.5cm (1/4-inch) bits once cool. Reserve 1 tablespoon of rendered bacon fat for extra flavor in the batter, if desired.
Prep muffin tin
Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F). Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper baking liners, or grease each cup lightly with nonstick spray or reserved bacon fat. Set the prepared tin aside while you mix the muffin batter.
Mix dry ingredients
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 240g (2 cups, spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour, 10g (2 teaspoons) baking powder, 1g (1/4 teaspoon) fine sea salt, 1g (1/4 teaspoon) smoked paprika, and 50g (1/4 cup, packed) light brown sugar until fully combined, with no clumps of brown sugar remaining.
Whisk wet ingredients
In a separate medium mixing bowl, whisk 2 room-temperature large eggs until smooth, then stir in 180ml (3/4 cup) whole milk, 57g (4 tablespoons) cooled melted unsalted butter, 120ml (1/2 cup) pure dark amber maple syrup, 5ml (1 teaspoon) pure vanilla extract, and the optional 1 tablespoon reserved bacon fat. Whisk until the mixture is completely uniform with no streaks of raw egg visible.
Fold bacon into batter
Pour the entire wet ingredient mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to fold gently for 10-12 strokes, until just combined—small lumps in the batter are normal and desirable, do not overmix. Fold in 3/4 of the chopped crisp bacon bits, reserving the remaining 1/4 for topping. Overmixing will develop gluten and create tough, dense muffins.
Bake and cool muffins
Scoop the batter evenly into the prepared muffin tin, filling each liner 2/3 full (about 3 tablespoons of batter per cup). Sprinkle the reserved chopped bacon bits evenly over the top of each muffin. Bake on the middle oven rack for 16-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a middle muffin comes out with 1-2 moist crumbs attached. Let muffins cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Tips
2.Use 100% pure maple syrup rather than maple-flavored pancake syrup (made with corn syrup and artificial flavor) for the deep, warm, authentic maple flavor the recipe is named for.
3.These muffins stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or wrapped tightly in plastic and frozen for up to 1 month for quick grab-and-go breakfasts.
OMG these maple bacon muffins are a total game changer! I brought a batch to my son’s weekend soccer tailgate and every single one was gone in 10 minutes. The sweet-savory combo is chef’s kiss, even the pickiest kids on the team came back for seconds. So easy to whip up too, I didn’t even have to run to the store for any fancy ingredients!
As a broke college student always looking for quick, cheap breakfasts that don’t taste like cardboard, these hit SO good. I prepped a batch on Sunday and grabbed one on my way to 8am lectures all week. The bacon adds the perfect salty kick so it’s not just an overly sweet muffin, 10/10 would make again for my dorm floor potluck next month.
Made these for my grandkids when they visited over the weekend, and they absolutely loved them — asked if we could have them for every breakfast from now on! I used the thick-cut hickory bacon we always fry up for Sunday breakfast and it paired perfectly with the sweet maple. Super straightforward recipe too, even my old eyes didn’t struggle to follow the directions. Only knocked a star because I got overzealous with an extra maple drizzle on top that made them a touch too sweet for my taste, but that’s 100% my own fault, not the recipe’s!
Quick question — can I use turkey bacon instead of regular pork bacon for these? I made a test batch with regular bacon last week and it was incredible, 5 stars easy, but my partner doesn’t eat pork and I want to make these for our anniversary brunch next weekend!
I brought these to my office potluck yesterday and people were hounding me for the recipe before I even left the break room! I topped mine with a quick maple glaze and extra bacon crumbles for garnish and they looked so fancy, no one believed they only took 35 minutes total to make from start to finish.
These are perfect for my weekly meal prep! I store them in an airtight container in the fridge and heat them up for 20 seconds in the microwave before work, and they taste just as good as the day I baked them. Only issue is, my batch stuck a little to the paper liners I used — any tips for preventing that next time?
SO good!!! I made a batch last night to have for a quick snack between work meetings and I’ve already eaten three today oops. The salty bacon cuts the sweet maple so perfectly, it’s not cloying at all like some super sweet muffins can be.
Y’all, I messed up the first batch so bad because I forgot to set a timer and burned the bacon to a crisp 😂 The second batch? *Chef’s kiss.* I added a handful of shredded sharp cheddar to the batter because cheese makes everything better, and oh my word, it was the best brunch addition ever. My roommate said these taste like something you’d pay $5 for at a fancy downtown coffee shop!
Can I freeze these muffins after baking? We have a super busy fall sports season coming up with my three kids, and being able to pull a frozen muffin out to reheat on chaotic school mornings would be an absolute lifesaver. The flavor sounds perfect for cozy fall breakfasts, too!