Baconberry Muffins

January 24th, 2014: The date of the great Austin blizzard. Nearly a WHOLE QUARTER INCH of frozen rain fell and the entire city came to a screeching halt. 

So since I was trapped (TRAPPED!) in the house, a thought occurred to me over breakfast: 

"You know, bacon and blueberries taste pretty good together."

And with that spark of inspiration came... 

the Baconberry Muffin: an overloaded blueberry muffin, topped with a candied bacon streusel. 

There's a few steps to this treat, but the results are pretty mind-blowing. This should make about 9 regular-sized muffins.


INGREDIENTS:

• 5 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (half stick) butter, cut into pieces

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries

For the streusel:

In a large skillet, cook the bacon pieces over medium-low heat until crisp. 

Transfer the bacon to a plate with paper towels to drain. 

Pour off the bacon drippings from the pan, (save that!) and wipe the skillet clean with a paper towel. 

Return the bacon to the pan.

Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of brown sugar over the bacon and cook over medium-low heat until the sugar has melted and has coated the bacon pieces. 

Transfer the bacon to a baking sheet or a large bowl to cool a little.  
CAUTION: molten sugar can be incredibly excruciatingly hot.

Once it has cooled to the touch, dump the sugary bacon onto a cutting board and chop it into small bits.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, granulated sugar, and the remaining 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. 

Then using one of those pastry cutter/ dough blender thingies, add the butter pieces and cut everything together until its a coarse, crumbly mix If you dont have a pastry cutter, a couple of knives in a scissor-style will work.

Fold in the bacon bits and set the mixture to chill in the fridge.

For the Muffins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Line the muffin tin with muffin liners.

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder.

Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture.

Fold in blueberries.

Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

Bake in the middle oven rack at 400º for 25-30 minutes until the a toothpick stuck into the center of the muffin comes out clean.

Pull them (carefully) out of the muffin tray and set them on a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy!