Black-Eyed Pea Bacon Cocktail Muffins #MuffinMonday

These savory little black-eyed pea bacon cocktail muffins would be a deliciously easy appetizer for any holiday party, but I highly recommend them for New Year’s Eve or Day, where they also promise to bring your guests good luck!

In the southern United States, it’s common to eat black-eyed peas and cabbage on New Year’s Day. Tradition holds that the black-eyed peas bring good luck in the coming year and the cabbage brings money.

When my Muffin Monday bakers and I decided to delay our usual post for December to Wednesday, the 27th since the last Monday of the month was Christmas Day, I thought it would be a great idea to create a muffin for New Year’s Day. Or perhaps even a New Year’s Eve party that would, of course, last past midnight. Might as well start working on luck as soon as possible!

Black-Eyed Pea Bacon Cocktail Muffins 

Even if you don’t believe in luck, you will love these little spicy bite-sized muffins. They are baked with black-eyed peas and plenty of crispy bacon inside, with onions and garlic and a little peppery zip from cayenne and freshly ground black pepper.

Ingredients – for 2 dozen mini muffins
2-3 slices smoked streaky bacon
1/4 small onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup or 125g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 freshly ground black pepper
1 egg
1/2 cup or 120ml milk
1/4 cup or 60ml canola or other light oil, plus extra for the muffin pan.
a generous 1/2 cup or 125g cooked black-eyed peas

Method
Chop the bacon into small pieces and fry until crispy in a skillet. Remove the bacon bits, leaving behind the bacon fat.

Over a medium heat, sauté the onion in the fat until softened and then add the garlic and sauté for a few more minutes. Set aside to cool, tipping the pan slightly with a pot holder so that the bacon fat will collect on one side and you can scoop the onions and garlic out from the other, leaving most of the fat behind.

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease two 12-cup mini muffin pans. I pour a little canola oil in one of the cups and use a pastry brush to grease the others.

Tip: If you only have one 12-cup mini muffin pan, make sure to cool the pan before filling it again to bake the second batch.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, salt and the two ground peppers. Stir in the black-eyed peas, coating them all with the flour mixture.

Add in the bacon pieces and stir again.

Whisk together your egg, milk and oil in a small bowl. Add in the sautéed onions and garlic and mix well.

Fold the egg mixture into the flour bowl, until just combined.

Use a spoon to fill your prepared mini muffin cups. Top with a few extra black-eyed peas, if desired.

Bake in your preheated oven for 15-17 minutes or until the muffins start to brown on top. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy! And Happy New Year to you all!

Check out all the lovely muffins we are sharing for this last Muffin Monday (on Wednesday!) of 2017.

• Black-Eyed Pea Bacon Cocktail Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Bloody Mary Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Chicken and Corn Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Ham, Broccoli and Cheese Corn Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Shallot and Gruyère Cheese Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories

 #MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

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