Bacon & Cheese Muffins with Soft-Boiled Egg

These grab-and-go muffins are made with a combination of soft-boiled eggs, diced bacon, and cheese. To cut down on fat, we use Canadian bacon instead of regular and a lighter portion of sharp cheddar cheese.

Servings: 6
Active Time: 15 minutes
Inactive Cook Time: 18 minutes

Ingredients:
7 medium eggs
5 ounces Canadian bacon, cut into small dice (can substitute lean turkey breakfast sausage if desired)
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1 tbsp coconut sugar (can substitute dark brown sugar if desired)
1 ½ cups lowfat buttermilk
1 tsp olive oil
⅓ cup fresh chives, finely chopped
1 tbsp minced fresh jalapeño (deveined and deseeded)
⅓ cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.
2. Fill a medium pot with water; bring to a boil.
3. Prepare an ice water bath (bowl with ice and water) to cool the eggs quickly after they’ve been boiled.
4. Carefully lower 6 eggs into the boiling water with a slotted spoon or stainer (be sure to reserve 1 raw egg for the batter). Boil for 4 minutes. Immediately remove and plunge into the ice water bath. Let cool for 10 minutes; peel and set aside.
5. Heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Spray with cooking spray. Add the diced Canadian bacon and cook until browned, about 2–3 minutes. Set aside.
6. In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pepper, and sugar.
7. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, reserved egg, and olive oil until combined.
8. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry, using a rubber spatula to mix thoroughly. Fold in chives, jalapeño, and a ⅓ of the bacon and cheddar cheese.
9. Pour half of the batter into 6 of the muffin forms using a spoon or small ice cream scoop. The reserved batter will be used to top the muffins.
10. Carefully nestle each egg into one of the forms, pushing it slightly into the batter. Top with the reserved batter, ensuring all eggs are covered. Sprinkle the top with remaining bacon and cheddar cheese.
11. Bake for 18 minutes, until a wooden toothpick or paring knife inserted into the top crust of muffin comes out clean.
12. Remove from oven and let cool for 3 minutes. Use a paring knife or offset spatula to loosen the sides and free the muffin from the tin.

Tips & Notes:
Here are some simple tricks for making café-style muffins at home:
1. Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature before you mix them (this helps make a smooth batter). When heat is introduced in the oven, air gets trapped in the batter and expands, resulting in fluffy muffins.
2. Don’t overmix the ingredients.
3. For even heat distribution, bake in the middle rack of the oven. Rotate halfway through to prevent any hot spots from forming.
4. Allow muffins to cool down slightly to make them easier remove from the pan.

Nutritional Facts:

Calories 238, Fat 8g, Saturated Fat 2g, Carbs 26g, Fiber 1g, Sugar 5g, Protein 16g, Sodium 508mg