One of my favorite things to do is bake.  I am not that great at cooking regular meals….but I love to BAKE.  When my friend Misty asked if I wanted to make something using Petit Jean meats I was like “heck yeah!”.  Petit Jean meats are made in my home state of Arkansas and are also the  Official Bacon of the Dallas Cowboys.

Petit Jean can be found in Texas at all area DFW Market Street stores, United Supermarkets in the West Texas market, David’s Meat Market in Garland, Texas, Hirsch’s Speciality Meats in Plano, Texas and Brookshire Fresh store in Tyler, Texas.

When you cook with bacon you usually think of something savory.  I wanted to combine the best of both worlds and create something savory and sweet.

I’d like to share with you my version of Maple Bacon Cupcakes using Petit Jean Special Edition Cowboys bacon.

MAPLE BACON CUPCAKES

I cut straight down the middle of the package.  This creates perfectly even slices of bacon and they cook quickly.  Cover pan with a lid at low to medium heat to create perfect crispy bacon.

I use a regular box of white cake mix.  To make it extra special I like to add a small dollop of almond flavoring.  Bake according to the instructions on the back of the box.  1 dozen cupcakes at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

I had a little fun with these cupcakes and divided the batter in half.  I dyed each bowl of batter a different color.  We ended up with blue and green.

Look at that YUMMY bacon!  The dessert meat.

Fill liners half way with each color of batter and bake until done.

Vanilla Glaze Icing: 

Directions:

Whisk milk into flour in small saucepan until smooth. Heat and stir until it boils and thickens.  Cream butter, sugar and vanilla pudding mix in bowl until thick and creamy. Add thickened milk. Beat until mixed well.  Top each cupcake with glaze.

Maple glaze & bacon topping:

4 tbsp maple syrup (mix with 2 tsp. powdered sugar to thicken)

Crumble 3-4 slices of bacon for sprinkles

Enjoy and eat your heart out breakfast!  Breakfast and dessert all in one.

Hope you enjoy & don’t forget to eat your BACON! *wink* *wink*

 

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Goldrich Eggs, which can be found at Wal-Mart. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Christmas is NEXT WEEK y’all!!!  Can you believe it?  I’m enjoying a nice little vacay and visit here in Arkansas.  I know I’m going to eat good while I’m here.  My Grandma always cooks the best meals.  My favorite part of every meal is dessert.  It’s no secret that I’m a chocoholic.

One of my favorite things is a chocolate soufflé.  I shared with you a couple of weeks ago a wonderful egg souffle that my Mother-in-Law makes every year.  So, in keeping with the soufflé theme I thought I would share a dessert recipe.

I’m using Goldrich eggs, which have a wonderful#GoldRichYolk & great flavor.

Grease 4-6 ramekins/small bowls to bake your souffle in.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set dishes on a rimmed baking sheet.

In a large heat proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, combine chocolate, vanilla, and 1/4 cup water. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

An egg separator is KEY for souffles. It’s an inexpensive tool and it assures you don’t get any #GoodRichYolk in your egg white mixture.

Stir egg yolks into cooled chocolate mixture until well combined. Set souffle base aside.

In a large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. Gradually add sugar and beat until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 5 minutes.

In two additions, fold egg-white mixture into souffle base: With a rubber spatula, gently cut down through center and lift up some base from bottom of bowl. Turning bowl, steadily continue to cut down and lift up base until just combined.

Bake souffle until puffed and set, 30 to 35 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

AND ENJOY!!!

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas.  Remember calories don’t count during the holidays, so eat and enjoy yourself!  Head to Walmart if you are looking for the tastiest eggs around- GoldRich Eggs.

I made a little video below with some instructions and helpful hints.

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Goldrich Eggs, which can be found at Wal-Mart.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The holidays are right around the corner and today I want to share with you one of my ABSOLUTELY favorite recipes for the holidays.  This actual dish was shared with me by my Mother-in-Law years ago when my husband and I first started dating.  I remember visiting them and this soufflé was so good…but I was too embarrassed to get up and get a second helping.

Then everyone else got up and started getting more, so I did too 🙂

So, here it is and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Puffy Cheese Soufflé with Spinach and Ham Filling

(I didn’t use ham in my recipe, but it’s wonderful in the soufflé)

Soufflé:

9 large eggs

1 1⁄2 c. grated cheeses – a combination of mozzarella, provolone, Gruyere and parmesan (3/8 c. each)

Sauce:

1 stick butter

2/3 c. flour

3 c. milk

3⁄4 t. salt

3/8 t. pepper

Filling:

1⁄2 10-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1⁄4 c. sliced scallions or green onions

3/8 c. cream

about 1⁄2 lb. sliced lean ham, optional, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 12” x 18” jelly-roll pan with Pam. Line with parchment paper.

Separate yolks and whites, dropping yolks into a bowl and whites into a mixing bowl.

If you don’t have an egg separator it’s probably one of the best investments you can make for your kitchen.  I love tool.  The yolks held together great!  Just look at that beautiful #GoldRichYolk

Make a roux by melting butter in a large saucepan and adding flour, mixing until well blended. Cook mixture for two minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in milk until mixture is smooth.

Simmer until mixture starts to thicken. When mixture thickens, stir constantly until thick and bubbly.

Remove 21⁄2 cups of the sauce into large bowl. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. To this sauce, add cheese, salt and pepper. Beat in the yolks until well-blended.

Beat the whites until stiff. Fold whites into the yolk/sauce/cheese mixture.  I am using Goldrich Eggs,  they have a rich, golden yolk with a distinctive texture and flavor.

It’s very important that you don’t get ANY yolk in your egg whites or they won’t fluff up!

Fold, fold, fold….don’t mix!

Pour into prepared pan and bake in 375 degree oven for about 17 minutes or until golden brown and set.

It should turn out something like this:

While baking, squeeze water from spinach. Blend into reserve sauce; add scallions, 3/8 c. cream, and chopped ham (optional).

Remove soufflé from oven. Invert onto tea towel and peel off waxed paper. (I ran out of was paper and used aluminum foil.  DO NOT DO THIS!!!!  I sprayed my aluminum foil with non-stick cooking spray, but it still stuck like glue)  ALWAYS USED WAX PAPER!!!  Live and learn right???

Spread with the spinach mixture. Roll, starting at long side and end up seam side down.

After you spread your spinach mixture gently roll the soufflé.

Place back in the oven and bake at 350 degrees until a little crisp and heated through.

(about 20 minutes).

Serves 8-10

You should end up with something like this 🙂

Here’s a little video about the history of this recipe and a couple of pointers:

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do, it’s seriously one of the best things you’ll ever make!