Pancake Muffins: Breakfast To-Go

I love pancakes! I mean honestly, who doesn't love a stack of fluffy deliciousness, topped with some creamy butter, covered in maple syrup with a cup of coffee on a Saturday morning? Oh, man, yum! If you don't, well then... I... I have no words. The only problem I have with pancakes is that they can be mildly time consuming to make, particularly when I'm only functioning at 1/4 my normal rate (let's just say it takes me awhile to wake up in the morning) and especially when I have house guests and need to provide an abundance of sustenance to six hungover individuals. One could be at the skillet for hours (more like 15 minutes, I know, but it FEELS like hours). Ugh, so daunting. It was while contemplating this little quandary that Pancake Muffins were born!!

I decided to make both blueberry pancakes and an updated version of "pigs in a blanket." So, I started off by browning some Jimmy Deans breakfast sausage in a skillet until it was golden brown. Then, I used some instant pancake mix (just some good ol' Bisquick) and whipped up a batch of batter (say that ten times fast... a batch of Bisquick batter... anyway), according to the directions on the box. I sprayed the muffin tin with Pam (I find it far less messy when I do this outside) and then divided the pancake mix accordingly.

I divided the sausage and blueberries, evenly, into the various compartments.

Then, using a spoon, I pushed the toppings towards the center until they were covered by the batter and popped the whole tin into the oven (preheated to 350 degrees) for 15 mins. I checked on them regularly, using the toothpick method to verify when they were done. After a couple minutes of cooling, I popped them out of the tin, cut them open and slobbered them with maple syrup. The consensus among the formerly intoxicated was unanimous... MMMMMMM.

I had some leftover muffins and realized that they would make perfect to-go breakfasts during the week. However, since they were thicker than normal pancakes, they were a little too dry to eat on their own. So, I channelled the geniuses at McDonald's and using a meat injector, injected the muffins with some maple syrup a la the McGriddle. No mess, no fuss, pure delight!