Balancing the Buttercream: Bacon and Apple Stuffing Muffins

Thanksgiving prep is under way, friends, and I’m changing things up with a savory stuffing recipe I have been dying to share with you!  In my family, stuffing is the most important side dish on the big day.  I don’t think there’s ever been an exact recipe, Grandma or mom have to make it (I swear it tastes better!), and we fight over it.  Yes, we fight over bread on a day of giving thanks.

Okay, that may be a bit dramatic, but I will say that if someone walks into the kitchen and catches you with a hand near that stuffing, you’re going to be called out big time, because we all love the edges. You know, those golden, crisp delicious bits, and square footage wise, there’s not too much “edge” which is where the problem comes in…

So, I came up with stuffing muffins, or as I like to call them, peacemakers!  To make these little gems, I had to go to the main stuffing source, aka, mom. Anyone who has ever tried to get a family recipe knows that it usually leads to mom tossing around a very general recipe like “get a loaf of bread, then sauté an onion in butter” and you have me on the phone not knowing which way is up because I’m all “what kind of bread? what size onion? small? the size of my head? diced? how much butter?”

Would it kill you to take some notes?

Anyway, I finally made some sense out of that madness, and then put my own twist on it with the addition of bacon and apple.  You guys, if you have never done the bacon apple combo in stuffing, the time is now!  The bacon adds so much flavor (hi, it’s bacon!) and then the apple balance it all out and adds a brightness to it, because let’s face facts, it’s bread and it’s not the lightest dish at the party!

I will tell you that I think the whole secret to the stuffing is butter. I think butter is pretty much the answer to everything, but adding some melted butter to the situation when you’re tossing it all together is what adds the flavor and the beautiful golden color.  The other thing I love about these is they’re so easy to make, you bake them right in a cupcake tin – bonus points when your pans are this pretty!

The final result was even better than I expected!  First off, these little stuffing muffins look so good piled up on a platter, they are packed with so much flavor (the bacon makes them kind of magical), you get built in portion control, and the best part, there’s no more fighting!  Ha, now everyone gets their own edges.

I can’t wait to hear what you think of them! Thanks so much for reading, and huge thanks for all the pumpkin cheesecake bar love!  I’m thrilled you guys are loving them, and I can’t wait to see your bakes on Thanksgiving.  Remember to tag me on Instagram!

Happy baking and Happy Thanksgiving!

Disclosure: I am in a working relationship with Farberware and this recipe was developed for Farberware Cookware.  Thank you for supporting Buttercream Blondie and allowing me to share what I love.