Bacon Egg "Cupcakes"

Bacon Egg "Cupcakes"

I stumbled across a picture of what I now refer to as Bacon Egg Cupcakes. Since I found it on facebook, it had minimal instructions on how to make this delicious breakfast in cup. What you'll need:

Muffin Pan

12 medium eggs (the smaller the better)

Bread

12 slices of bacon

Cheese of some kind, today I used mozzarella and parmesan

Non-stick spray

Something to cut the circles in your bread. Either a glass the size of the bottom of your muffin pan or a circular cookie cutter

I started off by cooking the bacon so it still had some flexibility. You need some give to it so it will bend into the muffin cups. I sprayed the pan first to minimize sticking. Don't know if it helps but it definitely didn't hurt so I'll keep doing it.

Next, I cut the bread circles to go into the bottom. Today I used bread that was starting to go stale and it ended plumping up quite a bit more than the first time I made these. Probably because it absorbed some of the moisture from the eggs. Either way, it worked fine.

I wasn't sure what order to do this in. Originally I put the bread in first, then the bacon around. I decided last minute to put the bacon in and then bread to get a better seal. Seemed to have worked well. If you do it the other way and it works, let me know.

Next add whatever cheese you want. The first time I did it with cheddar. I liked that better but I had run out of cheddar and used what I had on hand. It wasn't bad, just not exactly what I preferred. Notice the three "cupcakes" on the left side. My husband doesn't like cheese so I leave it off of his. That's why I love these. You can customize to each person's preference and the hardest thing about it is making sure you remember which is which.
 

Now is when the eggs go in. The reason you don't want any bigger than a medium egg is it will spill over.

Since the boys don't like runny yolks, I take a fork and pierce them so they cook a little more evenly. I think that I might have forgotten to mention that you need to preheat the oven to 400 degrees. I blame it on the Superbowl. I have been writing this on and off all day.

Today I sprinkled parmesan on top of the eggs. Well, almost all the eggs. 

I cook them for 20-22 minutes. The original recipe said 12 minutes or something like that but the whites were still clear at that point. Almost everyone in the house likes a hard yolk, thus the extra time.

After they're done, pull them out and serve. I put salsa or hot sauce on mine because I like spicy food. You can also add pesto or marinara just as easily as a topping. Or, you can eat them plain like my boys do. These are super versatile and I also found a recipe for a low-fat version the other day. The 100 calorie pack looks like a great version to use too. 

I'm going to keep experimenting with these. I love that they're relatively easy to prep and while they're cooking I can either clean the kitchen (or not) or take a shower, which is what I did today.