Since moving to Madison, Wisconsin, a lot of cool and exciting things have happened. We’ve been exploring our new city, walked on a frozen lake, eaten delicious fried cheese curds, sampled yummy Wisconsin beer and tasted 10 year aged cheddar cheese.
I love cheese. If I could just eat cheese all day, I would.
Maybe this is why we were meant to move to Wisconsin. America’s Dairyland and home of the best cheese ever. Now, when it comes to cheese, I don’t discriminate. I eat it all and I love it in all forms.
Especially in portable, muffin form. Because sometimes you need to mix it up and make it fun for the kids (or, the adults).
I made a version of these for a party and the adults and kids were going to town on these. This one kid, Alex, devoured like 4 or 5 within 30 minutes. This time, I added crispy bacon and chives and used some absolutely delicious Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese.
This is seriously the best cheddar cheese I have ever tasted. Rich and nutty, with just the right amount of sharpness, and a smooth, firm texture. Oh my this was so good! I wanted to just eat the cheese by itself but I had to use it for my mac and cheese muffins.
Method:
You fill the muffin cups in a muffin pan with a crushed cracker, shredded cheddar cheese and melted butter mixture, and using your fingers, press the crust firmly into the bottoms and halfway up the sides of each muffin cup.
Next, fill each muffin cup with your macaroni, bacon and chives mixture. Top each muffin cup with a little more Wisconsin cheddar cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden on top. Enjoy!
Mac and Cheese Muffins with Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese
Ingredients
- 50 Ritz crackers pulsed finely in food processor
- 2 1/2 cups 10 ounces Wisconsin cheddar cheese, shredded and divided
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 8 ounces elbow pasta
- 3 ounces Rondelé Garlic & Herbs spreadable cheese
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 8 strips bacon cooked to crispy and pulsed in food processor
- 1/3 cup chives finely diced
Instructions
- First, prepare cracker crust. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter muffin tin and set aside.
- In large bowl, combine crushed Ritz crackers, 1 cup shredded cheddar and melted butter, mixing well until mixture sticks together and resembles wet sand. Fill muffin cups with mixture, and using your fingers, press crust firmly into bottoms and halfway up sides of each muffin cup.
- Cook pasta in large pot of salted, boiling water. Cook pasta for about 6 minutes (or until al dente), rinse and pour into large bowl. Immediately add Rondelé cheese, remaining 1 cup shredded cheddar and butter. Mix well until thoroughly coated.
- Whisk eggs, milk, sour cream and salt in another bowl. Pour egg mixture over macaroni; toss to coat. Fold in reserved bacon and chives. Fill each muffin cup with 2-3 tablespoons of macaroni mixture. Sprinkle each with remaining cheddar and additional chives. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden on top and thermometer reads 160°F. Let cool for at least 10 minutes. Gently loosen edges of muffins with a butter knife to remove from pan.
I’ve partnered with Wisconsin Cheese and their new website, All Things Mac and Cheese today, so CLICK HERE to get my Mac and Cheese Muffins RECIPE! And if you’re a mac and cheese lover, believe me, you want this recipe. And now your kids can eat mac and cheese in a fun, new way! With their hands! Serve with veggies and a big glass of milk.
I hope you enjoy!
Disclosure: This post and recipe is in partnership with the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. I was compensated for this post. All opinions expressed here are 100% my own.
