Maple Egg Cups

Once, a long time ago, a friend of mine who shall remain anonymous (ok fine it was Guestblogger Alita) and I gained some weight. Kind of a lot actually. We blamed it on winter and the lack of daylight and our hectic workloads - but the fact is there was only one culprit and it's name was the fun-sounding MxGxxxxxx.

There was a MxDxxxxx's that both of us passed by on our way to work and it became a frequent (daily) occurrence to swing by the drive-thru, eat it furtively in the car, and be on our way. Now, if you have never had such a thing and believe me, I know it's a touch horrific to admit that you have, I'll explain it to you. A scrambled egg, cheese and your choice of bacon or sausage is sandwiched between two pancakes that had these delicious pockets of maple syrup in them.

I pride myself on cooking healthy, mostly organic, often vegetarian, locally-sourced meals at home the majority of the time. You can imagine what a dirty little secret this was. To this day when either of us has gained any sort of weight we qualify it by saying things like - "I mean, I'm not MxGxxxxxxx weight or anything."

This brings me to the cute egg cups pictured above which are reminiscent of the sweet+salty+savory goodness of yesteryear. Whole wheat toast is brushed with a butter/maple syrup glaze and filled with a thin slice of prosciutto. An egg bakes in the center and they are so tasty. Perfect for a brunch-style gathering, the prep is minimal and they can bake while mimosas are being sipped. And, you don't have to eat them in secret.

For 6 cups:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 6 slices whole wheat bread, crusts cut off
• 3 thin slices prosciutto, cut in half
• 6 eggs
• Freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 350f (180c). Melt the butter with the maple syrup. Brush the inside of 6 cups of a standard muffin pan with the melted maple butter. With the palm of your hand, flatten the bread. Brush both sides of each slice with the maple butter and tuck into the muffin cup. Press the prosciutto into each one. If there's any maple butter leftover, drizzle it evenly over the prosciutto. Carefully crack an egg into each cup and grind black pepper over the top.

Place in the center of the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Check the doneness of the egg and continue baking if you'd like the yolk more set. The baking times will vary depending on personal yolk preference. 

Remove from the oven and serve immediately.