Bacon Cheddar Lactation Muffins

You read that right. I made BACON CHEDDAR LACTATION MUFFINS.

At Christmas, my friend Melissa at Leche Love sent me a goodie box with the dry ingredients for her bacon maple lactation muffins. They were quite tasty (and that's the ingredient list clipped to a cookbook down there - lucky me!)

As I was eating them, however, I was thinking they needed more bacon. And cheese. Because we've got The Gourmet Toaster Oven Cookbook and it has a fabulous recipe for Bacon Cheddar Muffins. Also, almost everything is better with more bacon and more cheese, amirite?

I felt I needed to meld the two into bacony-cheddary-lactationy-goodness.

What? I'm just shredding bacon...

Ready for the oven...

Voila! YUM!

A few notes, because people keep asking me what makes them "lactation muffins" - and the answer is: Brewers Yeast, Rolled Oats, and Flaxseed meal. Not to mention the calories. Milk-making Mamas need as many calories as they can get. My research has turned up that roughly 500 calories are burned daily when an infant is exclusively breastfeeding. And when you consider that breastmilk *needs* to be fatty for brain and body development and that everything gets routed to the milk first - mamas need to basically inhale everything in sight not to just walk around as sleep and nutrient deprived zombies.

Unfiltered Wheat Beer also helps with milk production. In case you're feeling a bit thirsty after eating the dozen muffins produced by this recipe.

Bacon Cheddar Lactation Muffins

adapted from The Gourmet Toaster Oven Cookbook and Leche Love

Makes 12

1 1/2 cups AP flour
2tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbs flaxseed meal
1/4cup quick cooking rolled oats
2tbs brewer's yeast (soak this in ~2tbs warm water for about 5 minutes before mixing it into the batter so the yeast has a chance to bloom)

6 slices of bacon, cooked, drained, and chopped
1 cup grated sharp cheddar (I'll add another 1/2 cup next time I make it. But I feel most things are better with more cheese.)
2 eggs
2-3tbs oil - like veg, coconut, olive, grapeseed, etc (add 2, then a 3rd if you feel the batter needs a bit more moisture.)
1 cup buttermilk

Maple syrup for dipping if so desired.


Mix using the muffin method: mix the dry ingredients - add the bacon and cheese and mix in thoroughly.
Whisk the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and then stir into the dry mix.

Pour into muffin cups/tin (if you don't use paper, make sure you butter/spray the muffin tin cups!)

Cook 10-15 at 350 (my oven is 40 years old and haunted, so take that temp and time with a grain of salt. It's a good starting place, though.)

They're done when a toothpick emerges clean from the middle muffin.

allow to cool a bit

enjoy!