In honour of upcoming sugar season (I can’t wait), I decided to try my hand at maple bacon cupcakes. The mini chocolate chips are optional, but I found they made the cupcakes taste just like chocolate chip pancakes with bacon and maple syrup!
Ingredients
-15 strips of bacon (1/2 cup of bacon grease) -1/2 cup of milk plus 3 tablespoons -2 cups all-purpose flour -3/4 cup real maple syrup plus 4 tablespoons -1/2 cup brown sugar -2 eggs -1 teaspoon course sea salt -3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature -1 teaspoon baking powder -1 teaspoon baking soda -3 cups confectioner’s sugar -1 teaspoon vanilla -1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)Instructions
1. Cook all the bacon in a large frying pan on medium-high heat. When it’s about half way cooked, separate 8 pieces and place in another frying pan, pouring 4 tablespoons of maple syrup over top of bacon and cook on medium-high heat. Continue to cook the 7 pieces in large pan until crispy, then remove bacon and place on paper towel to cool. Pour bacon grease into separate container and set aside
2. As cooking the 7 pieces of bacon, continue to keep an eye on your maple bacon in its separate pan. The maple syrup will eventually caramelize the bacon (be care full it doesn’t burn). When it is cooked, place on a plate to cool and pour pan contents in with other bacon grease. *note its ok if your bacon grease has small bits of cooked bacon in it
3. Preheat oven to 375 F
4. Using a either a counter or hand mixer, cream bacon grease, ¼ cup butter, brown sugar, eggs, ½ milk and ½ cup maple syrup together
5. Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a separate bowl and add in gradually to wet ingredients until fully mixed
6. Take the 7 pieces of bacon (non-maple bacon) and cut up into small bits the size of chocolate chips. Stir bacon bits and mini chocolate chips into cupcake batter
7. Pour batter into lined cupcake tins and bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean
8. For the icing, cream together the remaining ½ cup of butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 2 tablespoons of milk, ¼ cup of maple syrup and 3 cups of confectioner’s sugar. Add additional tablespoon of milk if needed, depending on how thick you want your icing
9. Once cupcakes have been baked and cooled, use piping bag or zip lock bag to pipe cupcakes
10. Cup maple bacon up into chunks and use to top cupcakes
Notes
* Recipe yields 24 cupcakes 48 mini cupcakes. The mini cupcakes take slightly less time to cook, closer to 15 minutes depending on your oven
