Pancetta and Maple Crumble Muffins

I always love a good muffin. I also really really love brunch. That's how these muffins came to be. I wanted something easy to eat in the morning or for an easy snack to give to my kiddos for a quick boost before swim class, but I didn't want anything too sweet. The pancetta in this recipe balance out the sweetness of the maple sugar perfectly.

To begin, if you do not have any store bought maple sugar, you can easily make it at home, you just need a candy thermometer.

In a small saucepan heat up 1 cup maple syrup on medium-high heat. Let it come to a boil watching it so that it does not boil over (if the bubbles get to high, just give it a stir and they will dissipate). Cook until the temperature is between 257-263F (this will take about 20 minutes). When the temperature is reached, remove the pot from the heat and begin stirring with a wooden spoon. Do not stop stirring. You will reach a point where all of a sudden the maple syrup turns from liquid to sugar very quickly.

Don't worry about the sugar left stuck to the side of your pot. Simple soak it in hot water or put the pot back on the heat to bring the sugar back up to the melting point and then rinse.

To make the crumble, mix together 1/3 cup maple sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour and 1 tablespoon butter. Mix until you reach a coarse sand-like consistency.

Next, cook the pancetta until it is crispy and lay it out on a paper towel lined plate so that any extra oil is removed.

Now that we have those two ready to go, we can make the batter. In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix together your vegetable oil, milk, egg and maple syrup. In a seperate bowl, sift togther your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt).

Slowly incorporate your liquid mixture into your flour mixture. Using a hand blender blend well.

Next, use a rubber spatula to stir the cooked pancetta into your batter mixture.

Preheat your oven to 350F.

Prepare your muffin tin by lining it with reusable silicone muffin cups or paper cups, or simply spray your muffin tin with a non-stick spray.

Scoop the muffin batter into the muffin cups until they are at least 3/4 full and sprinkle with your prepared maple sugar crumble.

When the oven is ready, place the muffin tray onto the center rack and bake until golden brown or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (approximately 18-20 minutes).

Let cool on a cooling rack and enjoy!

**Store any left over maple sugar in an airtight container.