A lovely little pot of sweet and savory ingredients!
3 strips good quality local slab bacon, fruitwood smoked if possible
¼ cup melted unsalted butter
1/4 cup dark amber Vermont maple syrup
6 slices firm white or oatmeal break, locally baked if possible, crust removed
3 ounces locally made Swiss style cheese
Scant ¼ tsp. ground anise seed or ½ tsp. fresh chives
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Spray a six-cup muffin cup with vegetable spray.
Cook your bacon until crisp and drain on a paper towel. Crumble, and set aside.
Take the crust off of the bread slices and then flatten them with a heavy rolling pin. You'll want them quite thin.
Mix the butter and maple syrup together and spread liberally on both sides of the bread.
Place the prepared bread slices into the sprayed muffin tins, tucking them in nicely. Sprinkle the bacon evenly on the bottom and sprinkle that with a little cheese.
Crack an egg into the bread cup, sprinkle with some herbs and salt and pepper, then top with a little more cheese. Bake for 15 minutes and check. They will probably need a little longer for the whites to set, but don’t let the yolks go too far. I like them with the yolks still nice and runny, but if you want them more custard-like, you will probably need to add another five minutes to the baking time.
These are some of our best flavors in Vermont, and this recipe is a little sweet, a lot savory, and very satisfying!
It makes a fun Sunday breakfast, and the kids love to help. Different variations of these lovely little treats have been around for a while, but I like my addition of the Swiss cheese. You can use bacon, sausage, or ham in this recipe (I actually make it for myself using a soy sausage), and I always look for local first. I have also substituted a fresh tomato slice for the meat, and that is pretty yummy too.
Use the best free-range eggs you can find, the taste really is better (do avoid jumbo eggs however, of you might have trouble fitting everything in the cups!). If you are city-locked, look for the cage free organic eggs, which have extra Omegas. I use nice big slices of bread for the cups; I like the little pointy ends to look browned and pretty when it is served! In this recipe, I use Boggy Meadow Farms Baby Swiss from across the river in Walpole, N.H., because it melts beautifully and has a nice nutty taste. You can also substitute any favorite herb or combination.
GUS, our life-sized gargoyle, sits atop our roof and protects the house from evil spirits, or at least from evil illiteracy spirits!
Can you guess what he is reading?
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