Maple Bacon Cupcakes

Well folks, I have successfully created a man's favorite desert...a cupcake with BACON in it!!

At first you might be thinking, "gross!" but if you're like me, you LOVE breakfast, and if you're like me, you LOVE bacon and pancakes, and the best part of bacon and pancakes is that the yummy sweet syrup gets all over the salty savory bacon and it is a flavor profile so delicious and complex it is hard to match!

I have put it into a cupcake...try these, they are phenomenal :)

Maple Bacon Cupcakes with Maple Bacon Buttercream

12-14 strips of center cut bacon 
For the cupcakes:
1/2 cup butter softened
3 eggs
2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp maple flavoring

For the Frosting:
4 tbsp butter, softened
6 oz cream cheese at room temperature
4 cups confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup maple syrup

Pan fry all of the bacon and reserve the drippings.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake pan with liners.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat the butter for 30 seconds until fully and add the sugar.  Add eggs one at a time and combine.  Add vanilla flavoring and maple flavoring.  Alternatively, add some of the flour mixture, mix, then add some of the butter milk and mix.  Add half of the drippings from the bacon.  Continue until all of the ingredients are combined.  Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full.  Bake for 15-18 minutes.

Count how many cupcakes your batter came out to be.  Mine usually falls somewhere between 20-24.  Divide your number by 3 and thats how many bacon strips you should reserve.  Chop all of the rest of them very finely!  The strips you reserved should be cut into thirds to use as garnishes for the frosted cupcakes.

For the frosting, combine the butter, cream cheese, maple syrup, vanilla and powdered sugar.  I usually pour the sugar in a little at the time so as not to become covered in it :)  Add in the rest of the bacon drippings and finely chopped bacon and combine.  Pipe onto completely cooled cupcakes.  Enjoy!!