Tuesday, October 16, 2012

How to make Maple Bacon Breakfast Muffins from Scratch or Pancake Mix by Cleo Coyle




These delicious muffins deliver the taste of a pancake breakfast in one bite: maple syrup, bacon, and fluffy buttermilk flapjacks. I'll show you how to make them two ways: (1) from scratch or (2) with a pancake mix. 







Cleo Coyle’s 

Maple Bacon Pancake Muffins


Cleo Coyle has a partner in
crime-writing—her husband.
Learn about their books
by clicking here and here.

To create this treat, I started with my own favorite maple muffin recipe and swapped regular milk for buttermilk to mimic the richness of old-fashioned buttermilk pancake batter. 

Next I folded in caramelized bacon bits, made from a recipe that I first shared in my 9th Coffeehouse Mystery, Roast Mortem, a tribute to firefighters (with firehouse recipes). 

Finally, before baking these muffins, I topped them with a sprinkling of more candied bacon bits and a light drizzle of maple syrup. 


The muffin itself is a bonus recipe from A Brew to a Kill, which takes readers on a culinary odyssey through New York City after a food truck war between a “Kupcake Kween” and a coffeehouse manager turns deadly. My husband (and partner in crime writing) flipped for these muffins.

May you eat them with joy!  


~ Cleo


To download a PDF version 
of this recipe that you can 
print, save, or share, click here.


Cleo's Maple Bacon 
Pancake Muffins 

From Scratch Version...

Makes 6 regular-size muffins (or 12 mini muffins) 

Ingredients:


For the bacon:
Caramelized bacon bits will consist of…
  6 slices of bacon, smoked or maple
  + 6 teaspoons of light brown sugar


For the batter:
1 cup all-purpose flour 
1 Tablespoon light brown sugar 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
1/8 teaspoon Kosher salt (if using table salt, use only a pinch) 
1 egg, lightly beaten with fork 
2 Tablespoons canola oil 
1/3 cup + 1½ teaspoons pure maple syrup (not “pancake syrup," see note)*
1/2 cup buttermilk (I use light) 



*Note: “Pancake syrup” is not maple syrup. It consists of corn syrup flavored with maple extract. If you use pancake syrup instead of pure maple syrup in this recipe, be warned that your muffins will be dry. Use pure maple syrup for best results.

Directions:

Step 1 – Make caramelized bacon bits: First preheat oven to 375° F. Muffins need a very hot oven to rise properly, so give the oven a good 20 minutes of pre-heating.  Meanwhile, cut 6 slices of bacon into small pieces. (Tip: I use kitchen shears.) 

Sauté over medium-high heat until half-cooked—still soft and flexible with fat just beginning to change color. Drain fat. Add your 6 teaspoons of light brown sugar. (This measure is the equivalent of 2 tablespoons; you want 1 teaspoon of brown sugar for each slice of bacon.) 

Stir and continue stirring over heat until bacon bits are cooked through but still flexible (do not cook until crisp and brittle). Transfer bacon bits to a plate, break up any clumps into a single layer. Set aside to cool.


 Step 2 – One bowl mixing method: Combine flour, 1 Tablespoon brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until well blended. Make a well in the center. Add fork-beaten egg, measure in canola oil, buttermilk, and 1/3 cup of the maple syrup (you will use the final 1½ teaspoons from the ingredient list later). Whisk the batter until well blended, but do not over-mix or you’ll develop the gluten in the flour and your muffins will be tough instead of tender. The batter will be loose. Fold in the bacon bits, reserving enough to sprinkle over the muffin tops before baking in the next step.




Step 3 – Sprinkle and Drizzle: Coat 6 muffin cups and top of muffin pan with non-stick spray. If using paper liners, coat the papers as well as the top of the pan. Divide batter among the 6 sprayed or lined muffin cups. Sprinkle the reserved caramelized bacon bits over the top of each cup’s batter and drizzle a small amount (¼ teaspoon, no more) of maple syrup on top of the bacon bits and batter.





Step 4 – Bake: If baking standard muffins, check them in 15 minutes for doneness. If baking mini-muffins check them in 8 minutes. Muffins may need a few more minutes than stated, depending on your oven. They’re done when a toothpick inserted comes out with no wet batter clinging to it. 



NOTE: The maple syrup drizzle will cause the muffin tops to stick a bit to the pan. Simply use a butter knife to gently free it before removing muffins from cups. FYI - I use the toothpick method to remove baked muffins from their pans. Stick two toothpicks into the muffin from opposite ends and gently lift.




"Pancake Mix" Version

For fun, I included this “pancake mix” option for making the batter in this recipe. The difference between the scratch recipe and this one is mainly texture. The scratch version has a more cake-like crumb while the texture of the pancake mix version is more like a cornmeal muffin, but it’s very good too, and worth a try if you’re curious—and have some pancake mix handy in your pantry! ~ Cleo





Makes 6 regular-size muffins (or 12 mini muffins)

Ingredients:

For bacon:
Caramelized bacon bits consisting of… 
   6 slices of bacon, smoked or maple
   + 6 teaspoons of light brown sugar 


For batter:
1-½ cup dry buttermilk flavor pancake mix (What brand? See my note below.) 
1 Tablespoon light brown sugar 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1 egg, lightly beaten with fork 
2 Tablespoons canola oil 
1/3 cup pure maple syrup (and not “pancake syrup”) 
½ cup whole milk (1% or 2% will work; but do not use skim milk) 



*Note on pancake mix: Do not use Bisquick. Do not use a “just add water” mix. Use a mix that requires the addition of milk, eggs, and oil or melted butter. (I use Aunt Jemima Buttermilk flavor.) No matter what brand you choose, a buttermilk flavored mix will give you the best results. 


Directions: Follow the directions in the previous recipe with this exception. In Step 2, use this batter instead: Whisk together the pancake mix, 1 Tablespoon brown sugar, baking powder, fork-beaten egg, oil, maple syrup, and milk until well blended. Do not over-mix. Fold in the caramelized bacon bits, reserving enough to decorate each muffin top before baking. The batter will be loose. (Now move to Step 3 in the "from scratch" recipe.)







Eat (and read) with joy!

~ Cleo Coyle


New York Times bestselling author of
The Coffeehouse Mysteries

Yes, this is me, Cleo (aka Alice). 
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9 comments:

  1. Cleo, you had me at the caramelized bacon. These would be so much fun to serve at a brunch or holiday breakfast. which version did you and your hub prefer?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for dropping in today, Lucy. On your question: which version do we prefer? I'd have to say the "from scratch" version, mainly because of the texture, which is more cake-like. The pancake mix version was very good, too, but its texture was more like a cornmeal muffin.

      I enjoyed experimenting with the pancake mix, and that version is a nice way to finish off a box in one's pantry, but I definitely recommend the "from scratch" version for a better overall muffin. Have great week, Lucy...bake with joy!

      ~ Cleo
      Coffeehouse Mystery.com
      “Where coffee and crime are always brewing…”
      Cleo Coyle on Twitter

      Delete
  2. I'm with Lucy. You had me at the caramelized bacon, too!! I'm sitting here with my coffee wishing I had one of those muffins right now. I can't wait to try these.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aw, thank you, H. I have to grin at the bacon love. For a window of time on this blog, we had a motto: Everything's better with bacon! With fall and winter upon us, maybe it's time we added bacon to every other recipe again. :)

      As for me, my maple bacon cupcakes are coming up soon, so stay tuned. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these morning muffins. They really do evoke the flavor of a buttermilk pancake breakfast—needless to say, I think they're especially good with a fresh, hot cuppa joe!

      Cheers and thanks so much
      for dropping by our Kitchen,

      ~ Cleo
      Coffeehouse Mystery.com
      “Where coffee and crime are always brewing…”
      Cleo Coyle on Twitter

      Delete
  3. Just imagining wowing my family with these on Christmas morning.... I bet they'd give me all THEIR presents! Thanks, Cleo - these are going to be a smash hit, I can tell (even with the turkey bacon I always use).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laine! - Always a pleasure to have you drop into the Kitchen. I'm glad you enjoyed the post. I hope you and your family enjoy the muffins, too...the candied bacon is an extra step, but it's worth it. For anyone who really enjoys a pancake breakfast, I practically guarantee, a "wow" reaction. :) Cheers, happy baking to you, and thx again for dropping in.

      ~ Cleo Coffeehouse Mystery.com
      “Where coffee and crime are always brewing…”
      Cleo Coyle on Twitter

      Delete
  4. LOL! I was just thinking about baking maple muffins. Must be the season when maple sounds so good! What a lovely morning treat!

    ~ Krista

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks, Krista, and you're so right about maple syrup. That first nip of fall in the air makes me crave it, which is ironic because maple syrup is not tapped in the fall or winter but early spring (when the tree sap begins to run). Nevertheless that sweet, earthy flavor pairs so beautifully with fall favorites: acorn squash, pumpkin bread, baked apples. It worked wonderfully as the primary sweetening ingredient in these buttermilk muffins, too. Even without the bacon, these babies were delicious. Have a great week…

    Bake with joy!
    ~ Cleo Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    “Where coffee and crime are always brewing…”
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi, just found you, while researching muffins you can make with pancake mixes. We are having a bake sale and happen to have an abundance of pancake mix left over from the pancake breakfast we had in Florence Oregon. I Love cook book mysteries (I think they are called). I must have over 50 by now. I make some of the recipes I find in them and share at Bunco games. I did make one substitution in this recipe that I make to a lot. I substitute some of the pancake mix or flour with almond flour. Seems to me it keeps them moist. I'll be giving this one of yours a test with some of the other ladies next week.....wish me luck...Faye

    ReplyDelete