BACON EGG and CHEESE TOAST CUPS

This recipe is eye catching and tasty. It has several (easy) steps, but you can do most of them early in the day (or even the day before) and then finish it all up just before serving.

For each "nest", you will need one circle of toast, a pinch of cheese, one egg and one slice of precooked bacon. Make sure you use standard-thickness bacon because thick bacon will NOT work for this recipe.

These little beauties are quite filling and two of them make a hearty breakfast.

THE "DO AHEAD" PART:

Spray the cupcake pan generously with vegetable spray, then put a "toast circle" (un-buttered) in the very bottom of each cupcake well.

Next, pre-fry the bacon. I do mine in the oven because it comes out perfectly flat and easy to work with.  Click HERE for my post on cooking bacon in the oven.

Bake the bacon at 375 (no need to preheat the oven) for about 20 minutes, (or) if you are frying it, cook it about 2/3 done (you will want it almost "done" but still pliable). Drain the bacon but don't let it cool down too much because it tends to get stiff as it cools down. Quickly wrap the warm bacon inside each cupcake well, like this:

Add a healthy pinch of shredded cheddar (we also like Pepper Jack cheese) on top of the toast, like this:

At this point, you can put them in the fridge (covered) and finish putting them together later.

WHEN IT's TIME TO EAT:

Preheat your oven to 400 and carefully break one egg into each "nest"

Sprinkle with kosher salt and coarsely ground pepper. Put them into the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until the eggs are done to your liking. 

Let the cooked eggs sit in the pan for a minute or two before removing (don't worry, they stay very hot). Letting them sit in the pan makes them easy to remove.

Scoop the baked egg cups out of the pan with a spoon. If you like your eggs well done (like we do), you can pick these up and eat them out of hand, but if you like a soft set egg, you'll need a plate and fork.

ENJOY !!!