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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Sweet Potato Muffins w/ Bacon Pecan Streusel (Tackling Bittman)

So.  I know I teased you a bit by just showing you a picture of the best muffins I've ever eaten in my entire life (really!) when I reviewed The Food Matters Cookbook by Mark Bittman. I'm here to make up for that today.  These muffins are so many things. Perfectly sweet.  Alarming moist.  Impossibly good taste...as in best flavor bursting from a bite of a muffin that there ever was.  Do you really need a better argument than that?  Okay.  I'll top that.  Although I had yet to taste this glorious, easily portable package of bliss, I decided I wanted to add a streusel topping to it.  Oh yeah.  That streusel?  It has bacon in it.  That's right.  I said it.  I love to crumble bacon on my sweet potatoes...and then toss on some candied pecans for good measure, so I decided my muffins would get the same royal treatment.  Don't take my word for it, though.  Make some.  You won't be sorry.
Sweet Potato Muffins
adapted from The Food Matters Cookbook by Mark Bittman
yield: 12 muffins

2½ c. whole wheat flour, preferably pastry flour (I used 1¼ c. whole wheat flour & 1¼ c. bread flour)
¾ c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
¼ c. melted unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pans
¼ c. vegetable oil I just doubled the melted butter...but in hindsight, I bet bacon fat would taste awesome here, too...especially if using my streusel on top! Trying that with my next batch.
1 c. pureed or mashed cooked sweet potato
1 egg, beaten
½ c. buttermilk

Heat oven to 375° F. Grease 12 muffin cups or add liners. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, ginger, soda, and salt. In another bowl. whisk together butter, oil (or other fat), sweet potato, egg, and buttermilk. Fold wet mixture into dry mixture and stir until just combined.  The dough was very thick, almost like I was making a scone or biscuit dough...in other words, not liquid.  Be careful not to overwork it here...just gently combine it all and scoop off twelve equal pieces...it worked well that way.

Fill the muffin cups at least ¾ full. (Top w/ streusel if you wish...see recipe below).
 Bake until muffins are puffed and turning golden brown on top, 20-25 mins. Serve warm if possible.  But they're pretty darn excellent at room temperature, too!




Bacon Pecan Streusel

½ c. whole wheat flour
¼ c. brown sugar
½ tsp. ground ginger
4 Tbs. butter, room temp.
2 oz. pecans, chopped
4 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled

Mix flour, brown sugar and ginger in a bowl and cut in butter to form pea-sized crumbs. Toss in pecans and bacon. Distribute evenly over muffins.






*Don't forget, I'm hosting a special RoundUp Edition of Tackling Bittman this month, so send me your Bittman posts.  I will be accepting entries until Jan. 31...and drawing from all the entries to give one lucky Bitty fan a copy of The Food Matters Cookbook!  Click HERE for more details!

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Would you like to comment?

  1. These sweet potato muffins looks delicious. I like Mark Bittman's recipes as easy to follow and always fool proof.

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  2. These muffins are knockouts! I just love how you added the bacon to the streusel and I'm totally with you on using the bacon fat in the muffin itself. I think you're definitely on to something with this one!

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  3. these look pretty darn fantastic...and if i weren't completely full on a steak dinner...i would be rushing to the kitchen to fix us up a batch...but even i reach a saturation point! these are definitely on my wish list for sometime very soon!

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  4. Oh, nice! This is like a mini Thanksgiving side...for breakfast!

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  5. Just wow! What a muffin. I'm going to have to try these I think. I was intrigued by the sweet potato base, but the bacon streusel reeled me right in. ;)

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  6. mmmm muffins! These would be a perfect treat for my meat-eating fiance. I can just imagine the aroma of rich, bacon-topped muffins baking!

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  7. I love this recipe! Do you think it would be good without the bacon? And if so, should I sub it for something else or can I just go without? Miriam@Meatless Meals For Meat Eaters

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  8. Miriam...Yes, you can definitely leave the bacon out. That was my own bacon-loving-self addition. The original muffin doesn't even have a streusel on top...just the muffin. However, if you'd like it w/ the streusel minus that bacon, that works just as well!! Go for it :)

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  9. I can imagine myself indulging your muffin at this very moment. How delicious heather !

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  10. I think you need to send Bittman an email and let him know that he needs to include this "variation" in the next edition of Food matters. Sounds amazing!

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  11. The muffins look great and it's all about the bacon. I must be the only person around who has never made a Bittman recipe and I'll have to change that after seeing this!

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  12. Oh my! Those muffins sound way too delicious!

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  13. Wow, these muffins not only sound terrific they look awesome...I always have the tendency to over mix the muffin batter...I'll try this one since I have sweet potatoes sitting in my kitchen...love the bacon on it :-)

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  14. Bacon streusel, possibly the most mouth watering phrase in the English language :)

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  15. My mind is going crazy with ideas for that streusel. It looks amazing on these muffins but I bet it would be fantastic with banana bread too...

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  16. These LOOK amazing. I am loving the addition of bacon into sweet treats lately.

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  17. These muffins sound like they'd be a hit over here. Seriously delectable.

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  18. yes! i honestly don't know how this could possibly be better, LOVE the bacon. delicious!

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  19. Ok so these little muffins had me at just sweet potato, but that addition of that bacon streusal topping is insane - I'd like one of those right now - just perfect for my afternoon tea :-)
    Sue

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  20. Oh, and I meant to say - thanks for sharing these with Tackling Bittman :-)

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  21. Meredith's mouth is watering. She might give it a whirl without the bacon. Not because we don't like Bacon, but because we're afraid we'll like it too much!

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  22. Those muffins sure look wonderful! I love the idea of Bacon Pecan Streusel topping, also like the ginger in there, very yummy flavors!

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  23. These muffins are worth me getting up early tomorrow morning just so I can bake them for our breakfast. They look and sound INCREDIBLE. The bacon and pecan streusel is simply inspired! I can't believe it hasn't been done more already. Thank you for sharing with me. Stay warm and safe during the rest of the week!

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  24. Holy bat cave! These look so good! Bacon fat, wow, that would be awesome.

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  25. omg, how amazing these little things look, I can almost taste them myself! Here is something I NEED to bake.


    **

    ana

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  26. Wow, bacon struesel!
    They look like the ultimate breakfast treat. Perfect for commuters.

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  27. Great looking muffine!!! Must be really tasty

    CookHealthy.com

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  28. Whoa heather! These look seriously dangerous and seriously delicious! I love sweet potato but I have to say, I find it hard to cook at home because no one else is really partial, but add in bacon and pecans and I bet they will! Thanks so much for linking this to the Tackling Bittman Recipe Hop and for hosting the neato cool roundup! All the best and big hugs too! Alex

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  29. I'm not a huge muffin fan either but I think I would like these.

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  30. Shut up!

    These look and sound amazing. I love baking with sweet potatoes...and throwing in some bacon? why the heck not? I'm definitely bookmarking these!

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  31. OK--bacon struesel topping--I think you need to tell Bittman you made his recipe even better! ;-)

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  32. I'd like to see you hosting the next generation of shows (post cupcakepalooza, will it ever end?) - Pimp My Muffin.

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  33. These look fantastic. I can't eat bacon but I can imagine and I am certainly doing that. I am glad you added it to Tackling Bittman. I get a chance to be a voyeur.

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  34. Ohhh...this recipe is almost enough to make me eat sweet potatoes!

    Thanks for sharing with the Tackling Bittman Recipe Hop!

    Dr. Laura

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  35. I'm so glad you linked back to these! I love the idea of the sweet potato with the savoury, salty bacon and the pecans - delicious!

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