8 slices bacon
1/4 cup maple syrup
Cupcakes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1⁄2 cups whole milk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Frosting
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1⁄2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 400° Farenheit.
How do you cook your bacon? Use whatever method you like for the 8 slices of bacon. The one I used was in the original recipe. Use a cookie sheet with sides, lined with aluminum foil - arrange the bacon on the pan. Bake 15 to 20 minutes until very crisp. Immediately transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes. Mix the bacon and syrup together and set aside
Line a standard muffin pan with paper liners, and spray liners with non-stick spray. I got 18 muffins out of this recipe.
Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add milk, eggs and melted butter then add a third of the cooled bacon. Mix well, there may be a few lumps, but that's ok. Pour into muffin tins. Bake for about 10 minutes. They will be firm to the touch, but they don't brown much. Transfer to a wire rack once you can handle them.
This is where the magic happens: Use a stand mixer with a whisk for this step if you can. Whip the butter on high until very light and fluffy - about 5 minutes. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl every minute or two. Turn the speed down to low and add the powdered sugar a little at a time. Scrape the bowl, then turn up to medium-high and whip until fluffy for 2 minutes. Add vanilla and continue to whip 1 minute more. This is the point when I got to taste the frosting. I almost died. It was touch and go for a second. Wishing I had saved a little for a snack with graham crackers. #vegetarianproblems. Add half the remaining bacon and stir in with a spatula.
Frost the cooled cupcakes with a frosting spatula - it will not pipe well. Top with more bacon.
