Candied Maple Bacon Oatmeal Muffins

Special Sunday mornings call for totally decadent outrageously imaginative breakfasts.   One of life's sweetest pleasures.

Even better when you get to share them with someone you love!   This is the first Sunday in a gazillion Sundays that John is not working and we have so many fun things planned.   The only thing is... he's still sleeping.   I believe he will sleep until noon if I let him.   Considering he's been working days and nights for months, I shall allow him this little treat.

Which means I get to play in the kitchen until he wakes up and then we get to eat bed and breakfast style.   Yay!   Minus the 70 year olds.

I was reading on line this morning that men prefer breakfast in bed to bed and breakfast.   Duh.   I think we might actually be a little weird though.   We do enjoy sitting around the table with a bunch of strangers early in the morning on our days off eating fancy little breakfast things.   It is pleasant, civilized.  

Bottom line, if John does happen to make it out of bed today, he will have a fabulous breakfast waiting for him.    Plus a very sunny happy me which is always a good thing.

Check this out... this morning I am perusing and I run across this recipe for Maple Bacon Oatmeal Muffins on FoodBuzz this morning.     A recipe inspired by imagination... gotta love that.

But better yet, listen to these ingredients.   Bacon.   Oatmeal.   Maple.

How can I not try this?   I gave it my own little spin too.   I have had in the back of my mind forever that someday I must try candied bacon.   The kind you slather in sweet stuff and bake in the oven until it turns into CANDIED BACON.   Totally crazy.  

So here's the recipe...  adapted slightly from Hot Polka Dot's very own Love Muffin:  Bacon Maple Oatmeal

Ingredients
3 packages instant maple brown sugar oatmeal
1 1/2 cup milk
2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 egg
1/4 cup butter, melted
5 strips candied bacon, cooked, chopped

Note:   I made the bacon first.   Basically just put down five pieces on a baking sheet.   Preheated oven to 350 degrees.   Painted each strip with a thin layer of maple syrup.   Sprinkled each with sugar.    Put it in oven for ten minutes.   Flipped them.   Sprinkled more sugar on second side.    Baked for another five minutes or so.   I let them cool and then crumbled it up into candied bacon goodness.   Yes, I ate some too.   How can you not?

Back to the real recipe,

1.   Keep the oven on 350.   Fill muffin tin with liners.  I used the gorgeous little silver liners that I've had sitting around since a time when some friends and I had the brilliant idea to open our own dog bakery.   Needless to say, I still had them available.
2.   Mix the packages of oatmeal with the milk and let it sit for 5 minutes.
3.   In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt.
4.  Add the egg, sugar, maple syrup and butter to the liquid mix.
5.   Gently stir in the flour mixture to the liquid mixture.   Add the bacon.
6.  Pour liners 3/4 the way full.   Bake in oven.   About 20-25 minutes.

If John ever wakes up, I'll let you know how they turn out.   They smell FANTASTIC though.   This alone may get him downstairs.

On another note, I think I need to put a picture of my wedding dress on the fridge as incentive to stop eating like this.    Now that we have a date in mind, I suppose I need to cut back a bit.

Wishing you a fabulous Sunday filled with yummy breakfast with loved ones.   Or if you are sitting in the kitchen, by yourself, drinking tea and hanging out with your cats while the sweet smell of candied maple bacon wafts through the house, that's fine too.