The smoky, cinnamon flavor of these muffins is the perfectly complemented by the bacon (salty), cherries (sweet) and chilies (heat). Instead of traditional chocolate chips a specialty cherries-and-chocolate bar is used (where to buy in blog post and ingredient list).Should you not be able to find the chocolate bar my suggested substitution would be 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or a bar chopped up, 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper and a 1/2 teaspoon of cherry extract.
4piecesBacon, cooked (not crisp) and drained on a paper towel
13.2-ounce barChocolove Chilies-and-Cherries in Dark Chocolate bar Substitution: 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
15Pecan Halves
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffin tin with muffin papers or by greasing the muffin pan cavities. Position rack in the middle of the oven.
Sift together the flour, mesquite flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum into a large mixing bowl. Add sugar to flour mixture and stir to combine.
In a separate bowl combine the milk and canola oil. Beat in eggs and add the vanilla extract.
Slice the bacon strips across into thin strips. Remove and discard any fatty portions.
Chop the chocolate bar into chocolate chip size pieces. TIP: Slicing the bar into strips horizontally and then vertically makes this easy.
Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture; stir to combine. Stir in bacon and chocolate until fully combined.
Fill muffin cups two thirds full. Place a pecan half on the top of each muffin.
Bake for 18 minutes or until muffins are golden in color. Let cool on a cooling rack.