Bourbon Vanilla Cupcakes with Bacon

These easy bourbon vanilla cupcakes are sure to be a hit - and they have a surprise bacon topping that's surprisingly delicious! 

This post is sponsored by my friends at Four Roses Bourbon.  

this recipe

You guyyyyys! I put bacon on cupcakes.

Cupcakes made with bourbon. And then topped with vanilla bean frosting. And additional bourbon. And then the bacon. And then served with a side of bourbon.

Are you hooked yet? Because I am hooked with a capital H-O-O-K-E-D.

Cupcakes are my favorite things to share with a crowd. Which is excellent, because the warmer weather means we're coming up on priiiiiime BBQ/potluck/share-food-with-a-crowd season.

May is even National Barbecue Month! KISMET. (I'll ignore the fact that we don't actually have a barbecue and just celebrate BBQ month by eating all of these bourbon vanilla cupcakes instead, cool? Cool).

I was a little skeptical about adding bacon here (meat in dessert? I think Friends might have scarred me for life on that one) but I actually loved the way the salty, smoky flavor of the bacon compliments the sweetness of the cake and frosting. (Cupcakes? GOOD. Bourbon? GOOD. Bacon? GOOOOOOOOD. [Sorry-not-sorry. Had to be done]).

Plus, the bacon addition means you could totally eat these cupcakes for breakfast...right?

I topped these cupcakes with plain ol' bacon, baked until crispy. But they would also be straight up deeee-lightful if you candied the bacon first (maybe with brown sugar and, umm, more bourbon?)

The recipe as written here is simple enough that you can bust these out pretty quickly, but if you're in an all-day baking mood you can dress them up with candied bacon and mayyyyybe even a bourbon caramel sauce? Yes? I think yes.

Just remember not to top the cupcakes with bacon until you're ready to serve them, and don't leave them out on the counter or on a table for long periods of time. Bacon is meat, after all - you're going to want to keep that ish refrigerated.

If you prefer, you can top the cupcakes with bacon early and keep the topped cupcakes in the fridge until you're ready to eat them, but I prefer to eat my cupcakes and frosting at room temperature rather than chilled.

No matter what temperature you eat them at, though, these bourbon vanilla cupcakes are happy-dance worthy.

Bring on the potlucks and BBQ weather! Because we've got dessert covered.

Bourbon Vanilla Bacon Cupcakes

• Author: Jessie
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: Makes 14-16 cupcakes 1x

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Description

Easy bourbon vanilla cupcakes topped with crispy bacon.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

FOR THE CUPCAKES:

• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 and ¼ cups sugar
• ¼ cup bourbon
• 3 egg whites
• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• ⅔ tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup milk
• 2 tsp. baking soda

FOR THE FROSTING:

• 5 strips thick-cut bacon
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
• 2 tsp. bourbon
• 4 Tbsp. milk
• 5 cups powdered sugar

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Instructions

FOR THE CUPCAKES:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Cream butter, vanilla, and sugar together in a stand mixer.
3. Add bourbon and egg whites and mix briefly to combine.
4. Add flour and salt and stir to combine.
5. In a separate small dish, combine apple cider vinegar, milk, and baking soda. Stir to combine. Mixture will foam up a bit.
6. Add milk and baking soda mixture to stand mixer bowl a bit at a time, with the mixer running on low. Mix batter until everything is just combined.
7. Line two muffin pans with cupcake liners and scoop batter into each liner until it's about ⅔ of the way full.
8. Bake cupcakes at 375 F for 12-15 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

TO FROST:

1. Cook bacon until crispy and set aside. I like to bake mine at 375 F on a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet until it's crispy, then set on a plate with paper towels to drain any grease.
2. When cupcakes have cooled completely, make the frosting.
3. Cream butter, vanilla extract, and seeds from the vanilla bean together in a clean stand mixer bowl.
4. Add bourbon and milk to bowl and mix briefly to combine.
5. Add powdered sugar to bowl one cup at a time, mixing on low speed between each addition so powdered sugar doesn't fly everywhere. If frosting is too thick, add a tablespoon or two of milk and mix to thin it out. Too thin? Add a bit more powdered sugar.
6. Frost cooled cupcakes. I swirled frosting on to cupcakes with the back of a spoon this time to make nice dents on top for the bacon, but you could also pipe it on.
7. Crumble cooked bacon and place a few pieces of crumbled bacon on top of each cupcake. Serve immediately.

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Notes

Don't leave bacon out on the counter! Top cupcakes with bacon right before you eat them, or keep bacon-topped cupcakes covered in the fridge until you're ready to serve.

Exact baking times will vary by your oven. Keep an eye on the cupcakes and, if they're not fully cooked after 15 minutes, give them a little more time!

For more on how to bake the perfect cupcakes, check out Cupcakes 101: How to Bake the Perfect Cupcake. Need frosting tips? Check out Cupcakes 102: Frosting.

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