BLT Muffins — The Joy of Baking Something Together

Late May and the garden is in its first full burst. The cold crops I planted in April — kale, chard, the first lettuces — are thriving in the cool soil. The asparagus is done for the year, which always feels abrupt: a few weeks of those fat spears and then they're finished, the plants asked to rest for eleven months before they offer anything again. I let them go, the ferny fronds coming up, doing their summer work of feeding the crowns for next year.

The strawberries are starting. The first few red ones appearing in the patch, not enough yet for anything except eating out of hand in the garden, which is the correct first treatment. I've been checking the row every morning with what I recognize as disproportionate attention. But the first strawberry of the year is worth that attention. It's the sweetest thing in the world for about twenty minutes before it becomes the season and you stop noticing it's remarkable.

Carol came for Sunday dinner and we talked about the summer. She's settled in Stowe in a real way now — knows her neighbors, has her routines, has found a hiking group she goes out with on Saturday mornings. She seems, when I look at her, like someone who has made a decision and is living inside it. I'm glad she's close. I've said that before and I'll say it again. Having family fifteen miles away changes the whole shape of the week.

Teddy and I made a focaccia together over video call this week — my first attempt and his. The result was good, if flat in one corner where I suspect he didn't distribute the dough evenly. I said: that corner is perfect for tearing off. He said: I was going to say the same thing.

The focaccia Teddy and I made turned out well enough that I’ve been in a baking frame of mind all week — the kind where you want to put your hands in dough and pull something warm out of the oven, not because you need it, but because the making of it is the point. These BLT muffins are in that spirit: simple, savory, the kind of thing you can mix together quickly and have ready by the time someone arrives at your door, or share in pieces over a Sunday table the way Carol and I did this week.

BLT Muffins

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered (or 1 medium roma tomato, diced and patted dry)
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Instructions

1. Preheat. Heat your oven to 375°F. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper liners.
2. Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper until evenly mixed.
3. Add the mix-ins. Stir the cheddar, crumbled bacon, tomato, and green onions into the dry ingredients, tossing to coat everything in flour so it distributes evenly through the batter.
4. Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the egg, milk, melted butter, and Dijon mustard until smooth.
5. Bring it together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold with a spatula until just combined — stop when you no longer see streaks of dry flour. A few lumps are fine; overmixing makes tough muffins.
6. Fill the tin. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 cups, filling each about 3/4 full. If any bacon or tomato pieces are sitting on top, press them lightly into the batter.
7. Bake. Bake for 18—22 minutes, until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
8. Cool briefly and serve. Let the muffins rest in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack. Best eaten warm, ideally torn apart rather than sliced neatly.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 215 | Protein: 8g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 21g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 370mg