French Toast & Bacon Mini Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream Frosting

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Place an oven-safe cooling rack on a rimmed baking sheet and lay the bacon strips on the rack in one even layer. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, turning once. Turn the strips out onto paper towels when done and set aside to cool. Cut a couple of strips of bacon into 1 inch pieces on a diagonal, to be used as garnish. Finely chop the remaining bacon (yield approx 1/2 cup).
2. Turn oven down to 350F.
3. Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt into a small bowl.
4. In a large bowl or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter, sugars and eggs on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Feel free to sub bacon fat for a small portion of the butter. I did. I’m a rebel. Add the maple and vanilla extracts.
5. With the mixer running at medium speed, alternately add flour mixture (3 additions) and milk (2 additions) into the creamed mixture, starting with the flour mixture; beat until smooth. Fold in chopped bacon until evenly distributed.
5. Scoop batter into a muffin tin lined with paper cupcake liners. These cupcakes don’t rise as much, so they can be filled a bit fuller. I typically use 1 tablespoon for minis, and 1/4 cup for regular cupcakes. For this recipe, I just used heaping measurements of the above.
6. Bake minis 12-14 minutes; regular sized ones 22-25 minutes, rotating halfway through baking. After passing the toothpick test, keep baking until the tops barely turn golden brown. Let cool completely before icing.

Maple Buttercream Frosting
Frosts 40-48 mini cupcakes

1. In a bowl with an electric mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add maple syrup, vanilla, maple extract, and salt, and beat until fully incorporated. Add confectioner’s sugar, one half cup at a time until reaching desired consistency. Beat until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
2. Frost or pipe onto cooled cupcakes. Garnish with the reserved inch-long bacon pieces.
3. Devour.