Pumpkin & Goat Cheese Muffins w/ Candied Bacon

Makes 12 Muffins

Ingredients

Candied Bacon

  • 4 slices bacon
  • 1 cup light brown sugar

Pumpkin Muffin

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ¾ cup canned pumpkin purée
  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg

Cream Cheese Filling

  • 4 oz cream cheese
  • 3 oz goat cheese
  • 3 oz sour cream
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tbsp light brown sugar
  • ¼ tsp vanilla

How-to

For Candied Bacon 

  1. Preheat oven to 400°
  2. Put sugar on a plate and press both sides of the bacon on top of it so it sticks
  3. Place a baking rack atop a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Coat with nonstick cooking spray
  4. Place bacon on top of a rack and bake 18-20 minutes, rotating the pan in the oven at 10 minutes. Start checking bacon at 18 minutes and remove when it gets dark and starts to smoke
  5. Once removed from oven, transfer off rack onto a plate immediately (or else it will stick)
  6. Allow to cool, then crumble into pieces

Mix Batter

  1. Preheat oven to 350°
  2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs and sugar until combined
  3. Add pumpkin and mix 
  4. Add all dry ingredients to batter and stir until everything is fully incorporated. Set aside
  5. For Goat Cheese Filling
  6. Cream goat and cream cheese with sugar
  7. Add egg and vanilla
  8. Mix in sour cream and vanilla

Assemble & Bake

  1. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Fill each muffin ⅔ full of batter
  2. Spoon in 1 tbsp of goat cheese filling atop each muffin batter
  3. Swirl the batter and goat cheese together with a toothpick
  4. Sprinkle tops with candied bacon
  5. Bake for 17-20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly before serving