I'm square. (Alternatively titled: Corn, Bacon, and Thyme Muffins)

Square. Muffin. Pans.

Pure genius. Sooooo cute.

I'm infatuated. Maybe even in love.

First seen here. Obsessed over for a couple of weeks, and then bought here.

Bonus points: the pan I bought was marketed to be more of a bar cookie pan, so it's supposed to be amazing for brownies and mini-tarts too--brownie crust lovers rejoice!!


But brownies will have to wait until next time.

Instead, the inaugural recipe for my brand-spankin'-new square bar/muffin/cupcake pan was these Corn, Bacon, and Thyme Muffins.

We had great plans for acquiring a bucket of Popeye's fried chicken for dinner tonight, and instead of getting biscuits, I thought I'd try my hand at corn muffins since we'd recently finally went out and bought a bag of cornmeal.

Years of eating Boston Market as a kid (and I still *heart* Boston Market) has conditioned me to associate corn bread/muffins with chicken. Especially since my muffins are rectangular just like the BM ones (geometry flashback: squares are also rectangles)!

But unlike the BM corn muffins, mine are not sweet at all and are filled with all kinds of goodies like BACON, scallions, and corn kernels. These muffins were moist, savory, light, and just plain delicious!


Corn, Bacon, and Thyme Muffins (loosely adapted from The Muffin Book)

Ingredients:

3 slices bacon, finely chopped
3 green onions (scallions), finely chopped
1 cup corn kernels (either frozen or fresh)
1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 & 1/2 cups milk

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease or line 12 standard muffin cups and set aside.

In a frying pan over medium heat, fry the bacon and the chopped green onions until the fat is rendered out and the meat is crispy, and until the onions are soft. Add the corn and cook until heated through. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, sift and whisk together the all-purpose flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and thyme leaves. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and set aside.


In another mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and melted butter. Dump all the wet ingredients, followed by the cooked corn and bacon mixture into the well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, fold wet into dry ingredients using only 10-12 strokes, or until batter is JUST moistened (a couple of dry lumps are okay!! They'll work themselves out by the time you scoop the batter into the cups, and if you overmix, your muffins will get tough quickly).


Spoon batter evenly amongst prepared muffin cups. Garnish tops with a piece of bacon or sprig of fresh thyme, if desired. Bake at 400 degrees until golden brown and a wooden toothpick/skewer comes out clean after inserting into center of a muffin, about 15-20 minutes. Cool in pan for a few minutes, then serve warm for peak deliciousness. Once completely cooled, store in airtight container. Fridge or freeze for longer term storage.

Enjoy!