Sausage Breakfast Muffins

I’m shifting to something savory this week with these sausage breakfast muffins that are filled with sausage, cheddar cheese, scallions, and maple syrup. The combo is something a little sweet and savory and I’m pretty obsessed with how these ones turned out.

I made a variation of this recipe for my second cookbook that leans more savory, but this version is really the perfect balance with maple syrup, flakey salt, and all the breakfast flavors I’m looking for. They are easy to make and you can enjoy them for the whole week. Let’s get to it!

How to Make Sausage Breakfast Muffins

The batter for these muffins is kind of like a drop biscuit dough, so it’s very thick and you can mix everything together by hand. First you’ll want to cook your breakfast sausage and set it aside, and make sure your scallions are sliced and your cheese is all shredded up and ready to go.

We’re starting out by mixing together the dry ingredients, and then adding in some butter. You want to cut the butter into the dry mixture, which basically means just crumble it into the flour mixture and work it together until you have small pieces of butter running throughout. You can use a pastry cutter if you have one, but you can also just do this with your hands!

Then it’s time to add in the milk and maple syrup- I like to work the dough together at this stage with a fork to just gently bring everything together until there are just a few pockets of dry flour remaining.

From there it’s time to add in the fillings- this is your crumbled sausage, shredded cheddar, and scallions. The dough will be very thick to work with at this stage, and you just want to fold everything together until it’s well combined.

Divide the dough evenly into your 12 cup muffin tin- they should be pretty much full. And then it’s off to the oven to bake until they are golden brown all over. When the muffins are still hot from the oven, brush more maple syrup over the tops and sprinkle flakey salt all over.

I think these ones are best served warm- enjoy!

Tips & Tricks for the Best Sausage Breakfast Muffins

Here are my tips to help along the way:

• How do I know when the butter is worked into the flour enough? The butter should be in small pea-sized chunks running throughout the dough. This usually takes me about 5 minutes with my hands, or 2-3 with a pastry cutter.
• What kind of sausage should I use? I am using a traditional breakfast sausage here, nothing fancy. I like to lean savory on the sausage in this recipe, so I wouldn’t recommend going with a maple sausage here.
• What kind of cheese should I use? I love using a sharp yellow cheddar here for the strong flavor and color, but any cheddar that you like to eat will be perfect in these muffins!
• How do I know when the muffins are finished baking? The muffins should be deeply golden brown, and toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins should come out with just a few crumbs sticking to it.
• Do I have to use real maple syrup? I would recommend only use real maple syrup in this recipe- the texture and flavor will be affected if you use pancake syrup here.
• I’m at about 5,000 ft. above sea level, and I find that most people who live between about 3,000-7,000 ft above sea level do not need to make any adjustments to my recipes.

Enjoy!

5 from 1 vote

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Sausage Breakfast Muffins

Servings 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 1 pound breakfast sausage
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tbs. pure maple syrup separated
• 2-3 scallions thinly sliced
• 4 oz sharp cheddar shredded
• 2 tbs. flakey salt optional

Instructions

1. Heat a skillet on medium-high and cook the breakfast sausage until crumbled, browned, and cooked through. Set aside to cool and drain.

2. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees, and generously grease a 12-cup muffin tin, or line it with paper liners. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry cutter or clean hands, cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles sand and there are small bits of butter running throughout. Using a fork or spatula, stir in the milk and 1/3 cup maple syrup until well combined. Then, fold in your sliced scallions, sausage, and the shredded cheddar cheese. The batter will be very thick and dough-like.

3. Divide the batter evenly into your 12 muffin cups- they should be almost full to the top of the cups. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean, and the tops are golden brown. While the muffins are still hot straight from the oven, brush the tops of the muffins with the remaining 2 tbs. of maple syrup. Optionally, sprinkle the tops with flakey salt Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before serving!

Dough-Eyed

Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!