Name: Country Sausage and Cheese Muffins
Total time: 1 h
Ingredients: 8 ounces (227 grams) bulk sausage meat; 2 cups (10 ounces/283 grams) all-purpose flour; 3 tablespoons sugar; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon salt; 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces; 8 ounces (227 grams) cheddar cheese, cut into ½-inch pieces; 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped fine; 1/2 red onion, chopped fine; 1 large egg; 3/4 cup buttermilk

Why This Recipe Works

This muffin recipe combines sausage and cheddar cheese to produce a muffin that’s a complete breakfast. Replacing some of the butter with tangy-tasting buttermilk improved the flavor of the muffins and kept them moist. Using a food processor to quickly cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients prevented the butter in the Country Sausage and Cheese Muffins recipe from overheating.

Before You Begin

These muffins make a meal on their own and travel well.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour 12-cup muffin tin. Cook sausage in nonstick skillet over medium heat, breaking up meat until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate and cool.

Pulse flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, butter, cheese, bell pepper, onion, and cooled sausage in food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal; transfer to bowl. Whisk egg and buttermilk in measuring cup; stir into flour mixture until combined.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin and bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in tin for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to rack. Cool 10 minutes longer. Serve.