Grass fed beef, cheddar cheese, smoked jalapeño, tomato and pickles all baked into a caramelized onion muffin batter with another mini cheeseburger on top! Too whimsically delicious to be a muffin.
Cheeseburger Passion
Ah the thought of a cheeseburger, especially a homemade cheeseburger with all the flavors you like best in your burger!
But sometimes the work of making your own burgers will drive you right to your local burger joint instead.
The grill, the mess, the bun… If you are anything like me you’ve discovered the best buns on your burger are Homemade Burger Buns. So, now you’ve gotta let the bread rise too?
A Guy’s Muffin!
My sister’s hubby Nathan loves his burgers! Like, really loves them. And so, knowing I would be visiting them, I decided to experiment and make a cheeseburger he could have anytime, so long as my sister would make a batch in advance and have them on hand.
I inquired about all the fixings. His preference is cheddar cheese, tomatoes, probably a splash of ketchup and of course a pickle!
The Cheeseburger Muffin
I have come to believe that anything can be made into a muffin. So much so that I will be publishing a muffin cookbook dedicated to every crazy and whimsical muffin I’ve ever made!
I once watched a food competition, one of those that goes on for three months. There was a contestant that entered stating that “A sandwich is everything and everything can be a sandwich”. He won!
Fast forward ten years to now and I am telling you the same thing is true about a muffin. The great thing about that, as is a sandwich, is that they can go everywhere with you.
The other great thing, unlike a sandwich, is that you can make a bunch to store in the fridge for a few days or freeze for a few months.
Imagine how fabulous a meal you could enjoy on a long airplane flight if you had your own Homemade Airplane Food, and make it a cheeseburger too!
How To Make Cheeseburger Muffins
In base of the muffin, I wanted it to taste as much like a bun a possible. Eggs, milk, flour, a quick rising agent, but I wanted much of the burger ingredients to go into the batter as well.
I caramelized an onion. Yum. Already the brown edges on the onion were bringing this burger muffin alive.
Into the onions went a third of the ground beef, sautéed until brown and removed to cool a moment before going into the egg and flour mixture. Crushed garlic, cheese and a splash of smoked Jalapeño powder. Now we’re talking!
Then, my whimsical mind kicked in; I’m going to make little mini burgers to go on top, like, stick straight out from the center of the muffin to lure the burger lover to my muffin.
The rest just came together; tomatoes, both in the muffin and sticking out from the muffin. Of course there had to be a pickle, but I waited until the muffins were cooked, and fresh out of the oven while still soft and hot, I shoved the pickle in to stand up as well.
OMG! Like, oh… my… gosh! Close your eyes and take a bite and you’ll swear it’s a cheeseburger. Go ahead and squeeze a dribble more of ketchup on top if you must but dang these are delicious!
Ingredients Needed
- Onion
- Butter
- Ground beef
- Olive oil
- Panko crumbs or crushed crackers
- Garlic
- Salt and Pepper
- Ketchup
- Smoked jalapeno powder
- Eggs
- Milk
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Shredded Cheese
- Mini tear-shaped tomatoes
- Mini dill pickles (optional)
Equipment Needed
- Saute pan
- Metal spatula
- 2-inch biscuit press
- Cutting board
- Chopping knife
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Mixing bowl
- Spoon
- Whisk
- Garlic press
- Muffin tin
- Baking paper cups
- Non-stick spray
- Parchment paper
- Oven
My Muffin Madness Cookbook
Now that I’ve got you thinking outside the box about muffins, are you ready to try other creative and delicious muffin recipes you won’t find anywhere else?
Hot off the press this year: My Muffin Madness Cookbook!
Cheeseburger Muffins
Ingredients
- Onion – 1, finely cut into strips
- Butter – 1 tbsp
- Ground beef – 1 lb
- Olive oil – 1 tsp
- Panko or crushed crackers – 1/3 cup
- Garlic – 2 cloves, crushed
- Salt and pepper – to taste, for the mini burgers on top
- Ketchup – 1 tbsp
- Smoked jalapeno powder
- Eggs – 2
- Milk – 1 cup
- Flour – 2 cups
- Salt – 1/2 tsp
- Baking powder – 2 tsp
- Baking soda – 1 tsp
- Cheddar cheese – 3/4 cup, shredded, extra for topping
- Mini tear-shaped tomatoes – about 12, cut lengthwise
- Mini dill pickles – 3 (optional)
Instructions
- In a sauté pan, melt the butter and caramelize the onions. Once the onions are caramelized, remove 1/4 of the onions. These will go on top of the muffins before baking.
- Place olive oil in the pan with the remaining onions, jalapeño powder and 1 cup of the ground beef. Sauté until the beef is no longer pink. Remove and set aside in a bowl.
- In a separate bowl place the remaining uncooked ground beef, crushed garlic, panko crumbs or crushed crackers, salt and pepper to taste and ketchup. Mix well. Place on a parchment paper and roll out to about quarter inch thick and press mini shaped burgers with a biscuit press.
- Heat the same sauté pan and quickly cook the mini burgers, quickly on both sides just to brown. It’s not important the centers are cooked all the way because these will get baked in the muffin.
- Preheat oven to 350. Place muffin baking cups in a muffin tin. Spray non-stick lightly in each cup.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and milk until well mixed. Add the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda and whisk until batter comes together. Stir in the cooked ground beef with the onions that is set aside, and fold in the cheese. The batter will be thick.
- Divide the batter into the prepared baking cups. Place one mini burger in the center of the muffin, sticking up along with 1 mini tomato cut in half. Sprinkle a little more cheese on top.
- Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes for jumbo tins, 25 for normal size.
- Remove from the oven and while still warm, slide the sliced pickle in the center, sticking out. Cool slightly and serve. Delicious room temperature too.
- Will keep about 3-days in the fridge. Eat cold or pop in the microwave for about 20-seconds.
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I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.
I love it!!