Bacon and egg breakfast cups, baked, with spinach and cheese

This is my third post for November NaBloPoMo – a recipe for baked egg breakfast tarts. Just like my other baked egg cups from a couple of weeks ago, these are very easy to make, provided you prepare the dough for tart shells in advance, because, although tart shells are super easy to make, the tart dough has to sit in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to be flaky. So you have to plan for those couple of hours (or overnight if it’s more convenient – I personally like to prepare tart dough a day in advance and keep it covered and refrigerated overnight). The super flaky tart crust is well worth it. Eggs baked in mini tart shells definitely make an impression. The individual serving size also makes it convenient to serve.

As of today, November 3, NaBloPoMo has over 1,500 blogs signed up on their November NaBloPoMo Blogroll . That’s a lot of blogs! And there are still 2 more days before November 5, when BlogHer will close the Blogroll, so probably even more people will sign up. I’ll be curious to see the final number of blogs that will be participating this November.

Preparing tart shells (6 tart shells, 3 inch diameter each):

1) Prepare savory tart crust using the recipe and the method described in my recipe here. The only thing different here will be the size of tart pan: instead of using one large tart pan, use 6 smaller individual tartlet pans (3 inch diameter each). Bake empty smaller tart shells for about 20 minutes. You don’t need to bake them to brown or golden color, because you will continue baking them once you put the filling in.

To make the filling:

2) Preheat oven to 350 F. Cook spinach in olive oil for 10-15 minutes on medium heat until wilted. Salt to taste. Let it cool. Make sure to drain any liquid resulting from cooking spinach.

3) In a small bowl, whisk together 1 egg, heavy cream, milk. Add shredded cheese, bacon (cooked and chopped finely), and salt and mix well.

4) Divide spinach into 6 equal parts and place each spinach portion in each of the 3″ tartlet shells, that you pre-baked in step 1. Divide the egg mixture from step 3 into 6 equal parts and pour each portion over spinach into each of 6 tart shells.

5) Crack an egg over each tart shell (6 eggs for 6 tart shells in this recipe). Season with salt, pepper.

6) Bake these egg cups for 20-30 minutes, until tart shell is golden brown and eggs are almost set.

7) Remove from oven and let it cool for 10 minutes on wire rack before serving.

More breakfast recipes:

• Crepes with ricotta cheese and blueberries
• Stuffed sweet potatoes for breakfast - with sausage and eggs
• Apple cinnamon yogurt pancakes
• Breakfast flank steak and eggs with guacamole
• Bacon and egg tartlets with Gouda cheese and green onions
• Baked egg cups with spinach, cheese, and grape tomatoes
• Breakfast tart with eggs, Gruyere cheese, leeks, thyme, and grape tomatoes

You might also like to check out this breakfast and/or dessert staple (crepes):

• How to make crepes in a regular frying pan, from scratch

This recipe was included in The Kitchn’s Delicious Links!