Maple-Glazed Bacon Muffins
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
With a delicious maple flavor, crispy bacon, and cake-like texture, Maple-Glazed Bacon Muffins are the ultimate breakfast treat or after dinner dessert. Best served warm with a cup of coffee, these bacon muffins are the perfect combination of salty and sweet.
Bacon baked right into the batter and crumbled on top of the glazed muffins give them a salty, savory taste that balances out the maple syrup-infused glaze.
Trust me, these sweet and savory muffins get rave reviews every time I bake up a batch!
Maple-Glazed Bacon Muffins
The smell of frying bacon is one sure way to wake up my husband. Contrary to popular belief, I really don’t cook ALL the time. On weekdays, it’s every man for himself, especially in the mornings!
For some reason, it seems lately I’m an early riser on the weekends, too. I enjoy the quiet of the morning, sipping my coffee, a little devotion time, and leisurely preparing a special Saturday breakfast.
Sometimes, breakfast is a stack of Raspberry Oatmeal Pancakes. Sometimes, it’s our favorite Quiche Lorraine. Whatever it is, if there’s a side of bacon involved, all is good in my husband’s world!
This past weekend, about the time these bacon muffins went into the oven, when John walked into the kitchen with a big grin and said, “Do I smell bacon?”
Little did he realize what a treat he was in for! If you like sweet and salty together—and especially if you like bacon—I know you’ll love these Maple-Glazed Bacon Muffins, too!
How to make maple-glazed bacon muffins
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and prepare the muffin pan by lightly coating with cooking spray and inserting paper liners.
- Cream together butter, cut into small pats, vegetable oil, and both granulated sugar and brown sugar until smooth.
- Gently stir in eggs, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla (or even maple extract).
- With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour with the milk, being careful not to over mix the batter.
- Divide the batter among the muffin cups, add bacon pieces in the center, and drizzle with a little maple syrup.
- Bake for 15 minutes, then cool on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes before adding the glaze.
- In a small bowl, combine confectioner’s sugar, a pinch of salt, and maple syrup. Spread on top of the muffins while still slightly warm. Garnish with more crumbled bacon and chopped pecans, if desired.
Baking tips
- The maple syrup drizzled on top of the unbaked batter can sometimes stick to the muffin pan making them a little difficult to remove. To avoid this, lightly coat the muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray and insert a paper cupcake liner.
I especially like these Paper Chef Parchment Baking Cups for baking muffins.
- Fry the bacon until crisp, then let cool on paper towels. To evenly divide the bacon, use a half slice of bacon per muffin. A pair of kitchen shears makes cutting up the cooked bacon easy!
I also use my kitchen shears (the blades separate for easy cleaning) to snip or chop fresh herbs.
- The maple powdered sugar glaze is much easier to spread on the muffins if they are still a bit warm, so let them cool on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes before glazing.
Sent these with my husband to his band breakfast this morning. They were loved by all—the perfect blend of savory & sweet!
—Amy
Related recipes
- Pumpkin Oat Muffins. Make these muffins with whole wheat flour for a healthier, whole grain muffin sweetened with dark brown sugar and maple syrup.
- Chocolate Banana Muffins. Unsweetened cocoa in the batter and chocolate chips baked right on top give this one-bowl recipe its double chocolatey goodness.
- Hot Pepper Jelly Cheese Dip with Bacon. Sweet and salty with a little bit of heat, this cheese dip with bacon is irresistible at holiday parties.
- Bacon Cheddar Scones. Filled with cheese, crispy bacon, and green onions are a wonderful addition to brunch menus and pair perfectly with a savory soup.
Let’s bake!
This Maple-Glazed Bacon Muffin recipe was adapted from a recipe I found for baked donuts. I like them as muffins myself because the baked donuts don’t seem to stay fresh quite as long.
Be stingy with the glaze unless you have a serious sweet tooth, though, as we found the muffins to be almost sweet enough even before adding the powdered sugar maple glaze.
Wrap any leftovers loosely in plastic, and store for 1 day at room temperature; refrigerate or freeze for longer storage. To serve, allow to come to room temperature.
Maple-Glazed Bacon Muffins
Ingredients
Muffins
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup vegetable or canola oil
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
Topping
- 8 slices crisp cooked bacon divided
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup
Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- pinch of kosher salt
- ¼ cup maple syrup
Instructions
To make the muffins:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Use cooking spray to lightly coat the cups of a standard 12-count muffin pan, then place a paper cupcake liner in each cup.
- Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, cut into small pats, along with the vegetable oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Cream together until smooth.
- Add the eggs, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla and mix until just combined.
- With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour, until thoroughly combined.
- Evenly scoop the batter into the muffin pan. Take 6 slices of the cooked bacon and cut them in half. Cut a half piece of bacon into small strips and gently pile it in the center (it will distribute during baking) of each muffin cup, then drizzle with 1 teaspoon maple syrup.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool for a few minutes.
To make the glaze:
- In a small bowl, stir together the confectioners’ sugar and salt. Add the maple syrup and stir until smooth. If needed, add more maple syrup to make a spreadable glaze.
- While the muffins are still slightly warm, spread the glaze over the muffins. Crumble the remaining bacon and sprinkle on top of the glaze. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- If you like, along with additional crumbled bacon, add a few chopped toasted pecans on top of the glazed muffins, too.
- Wrap any leftovers loosely in plastic, and store for 1 day at room temperature; refrigerate or freeze for longer storage.
Nutrition
Life Love and Good Food does not claim to be a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information shared on this site is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
I have never tried sweet and salty together, but this recipe sounds interesting. Gonna save it to try sometime soon, thank you!
I’m going to try these without the maple syrup drizzle. If I use maple flavoring & the maple glaze, that should be enough maple for the muffins., & eliminate the sticking.
Sent these with my husband to his band breakfast this morning. They were loved by all- perfect blend of savory & sweet! My one complaint is the drizzled maple ran over side and muffin foils stuck to pan when baking. Will have to try parchment cups next time or grease the tins and bake direct….or grease the tins and use parchment!!