Recipe: Brian Boitano's Bacon Corn Muffins With Savory Cream Cheese Frosting

Food Network

He created this dish as part of an all-bacon meal requested by a local team of roller derby chicks, something you can fairly easily bake up on Sunday morning and have ready in time for the program's 1 p.m. start.

Brian Boitano's Bacon Corn Muffins with Savory Cream Cheese Frosting
Yield: 24 mini muffins
Prep time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 22 minutes

For the muffins:
8 strips bacon
Nonstick cooking spray
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon reserved bacon fat

For the frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1 bunch chives, sliced

Equipment you'll need:
2 (24-count) nonstick mini muffin tins
A disposable pastry bag

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Place bacon onto a baking sheet and bake until crisp, about
12 minutes. Remove from baking sheet and transfer to a plate lined with a paper
towel. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat. Once bacon is cool enough to
handle, chop into small pieces.

Spray muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl combine flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and brown sugar. In a separate bowl whisk the milk and egg. Whisk the milk mixture, melted butter and bacon fat into the dry ingredients. Add 3/4 of the chopped cooked bacon; reserve the remaining 1/4 cup as a garnish.

Fill each muffin cup with 1 tablespoon of batter -- they should be about three-quarters full. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the muffins comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before icing.

While muffins are cooling, in a medium bowl beat the cream cheese, honey, and hot sauce with a hand mixer until soft and combined. Add three-quarters of the sliced chives; reserve the remaining 1/4 cup as a garnish. Mix until well combined. Transfer mixture to a pastry bag and snip off the end.

Once the muffins have cooled, pipe a small amount of the frosting on each. Garnish with remaining bacon and chives.