Bacon Cheddar Corn Muffins

I have an unhealthy obsession with bacon. In fact, I love bacon so much that I'm kind of surprised that I waited until now to make something with bacon. In briefly reviewing the bacon muffin recipes available on the internet, they basically came down to two recipes. The first recipe entails corn muffins made from a boxed mix and then cheddar and bacon are added before baking. I find this to be lazy and not very inventive (I'm looking at you Rachel Ray). Ironically, the second recipe for Bacon Cheddar Muffins was published in Cooking Light in 2007. I can assure you there is nothing light about this recipe. In fact, I followed a variation on that recipe which calls for more bacon and more cheese. I'm not exactly sure why it calls for curdled milk but the lemon juice and milks makes for quite a chunky combination. Overall the recipe yields a nicely flavored corn muffin with hints of bacon greatness.


Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 large egg
3 ounces shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
5 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together milk and juice - let sit for 2 minutes to curdle. Stir in melted butter and the egg until well combined. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Fold in the cheese and bacon.
4. Evenly divide the batter between the wells of a 12 cup muffin tin lightly coated with nonstick spray. Bake until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center, about 15-18 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully take the muffins out of the baking pan and cool on a wire rack.