Brie and Bacon Muffins #MuffinMonday

From the City of Love, fluffy, cheesy Brie and bacon muffins, perfect for breakfast, lunch or snack time. Take them on a picnic with a bottle of your favorite wine.

If you follow my page on Facebook  (and I thank you if you already do) you know that I am in Paris this week, visiting friends and enjoying the sweet life.  I’ve only been here since Friday but I’ve already strolled through the Saturday market and eaten my weight in cheese and fresh fruit and bread.  (The cherries, in particular, are divine!)  Yesterday, we took the train out to Versailles to watch the start of the final stage of the Tour de France.  What an amazing experience.  Despite the heat, Parisians were out in force to cheer on the racers and I managed to get a good shot of the guys who had been awarded jerseys as they took off for the warm up around the Chateau de Versailles.  There really is no more beautiful city than Paris when the weather is good!

Our Muffin Monday ingredient this week is bacon but, since I am in the city of wonderful cheeses, I chose a nice creamy Brie to accompany it.  The French also offer bacon they call lardons in handy packages, already chopped up, so I used one of those.  But you can easily use any bacon and just chop it yourself.  I also added in a little Piment d'Espelette, because it has been on my “want” list for months and my friend, whose kitchen I was using, happened to have some on the spice shelf.  I have since bought a bag of my own.

Ingredients

7 oz or 200g smoked bacon or lardons
10 1/4 oz or 290g Brie
2/3 cup or 150ml canola or other light oil
1 1/8 cup or 265ml buttermilk
2 eggs
3 cups or 375g flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4-1/2 teaspoon Piment d'Espelette or hot paprika or cayenne pepper.

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 12-cup muffin tin by lightly rubbing it with oil or use non-stick spray to coat or lining it with paper liners.

Fry your bacon in a skillet and drain on some paper towels.   Set aside a few pieces for topping each muffin before baking.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, salt, pepper and baking powder.

Cut the Brie into cubes and add them a few at a time to the flour mixture, stirring between additions, so that they are coated by the flour and won’t stick back together.  Reserve some cubes for topping the muffins before baking, if desired.

Whisk the oil, egg and buttermilk in a smaller mixing bowl.

Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ones and stir a couple of times.

Add in the bacon pieces and fold to combine.

Divide the rest of the batter between the muffin cups and top with the reserved cubes of Brie and bacon.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Allow the muffins to cool for a few minutes then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

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