Savory Sausage Cheese Muffins

Take That Sausage Balls!

The way I see it, everyone should get exactly what they want on their birthday.

Well, within reason of course. No tie-dyed ponies or 16-year-olds getting a 2012 Range Rover, that would just be ludicrous.

My excitement for birthdays is no secret. This past year I managed to rack up a list of ten posts dedicated to my thirtieth birthday. For nearly two years I’ve had a work tradition of bringing my friends baked goods. Past items have included the likes of Chocolate Layer Cake with Devil’s Food Icing and Strawberry Cake..

Another birthday popped up this week, and this particular friend has an extreme love for sausage. He turned down my initial proposition of oatmeal raisin cookies but I knew what he really wanted, a Southern staple called – the sausage ball.

I feel the same way about sausage balls as I do George Clooney…lukewarm, take ‘em or leave ‘em. Most traditional sausage ball recipes include Bisquick, are dangerously dry and I could easily pass them up.

Rising to a self-imposed challenge, I set out to create a savory breakfast treat superior to the average sausage ball. And although I’m still not convinced these are better than say, a chocolate chip cookie, the birthday boy was happy.

Savory Sausage Cheese Muffins
Note: This recipe made 22 muffins. I would advise simply using a non-stick spray on the muffin tin because they tended to stick to the paper wrapper.

Ingredients
1 lb. sausage (I used Jimmy Dean Original)
3 c. all-purpose white flour
3 t. granulated sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 t. garlic salt
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (1/2 c. reserved for the tops)
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 1/2 c. milk (I used 2%)
2 eggs

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and coat a muffin tin with non-stick spray.

In a large non-stick skillet, brown the sausage and break up the meat into small pieces. Set the sausage aside and let cool to room temperature.

In a mixing bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and garlic salt. In a separate smaller bowl beat the eggs until combined with the milk and oil. Slowly fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and gently add one cup of the cheddar cheese.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin and sprinkle tops with remaining 1/2 c. of cheddar cheese. Bake for 12-15 minutes. They are done baking when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool and then transfer to a wire rack.

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