Chipotle Cheddar Crumpets with Candied Vidalia Onions
These Chipotle Cheddar Crumpets with Candied Vidalia Onions are not your granny’s recipe! The Cabot cheddar, Vidalia onions, and stellar Red Star Yeast all come together in these non-traditional crumpets.
I had this grandiose plan of making some sourdough crumpets. As you can see by the title, that didn’t happen. I haven’t had a total fail of many recipes, but THAT was a total fail. Which turned out not to be such a bad thing because it brought me to the present day crumpet recipe.
I’ve had this obsession with crumpets ever since I can’t find them in my grocery store any more. I mean, they can’t be TOO hard to make, right? I’m not a total failure of a bread baker and have whipped up my own ciabatta a time or two. How hard can they really be to make?
They’re not. Not really. The batter is simple. The cooking method is simple. It’s knowing when to flip them that I was grappling with. Some recipes said full of bubbles. Other said full of bubbles and dry on top then you broil them. Huh? Others just didn’t say. Some said cast iron, some said non-stick. I mean, like opinions, there’s a million different ways to cook up crumpets.
So, like anything I do in the kitchen, I jumped in with both feet and started to make some crumpets. The sourdough version, like I said, was a complete fail. I couldn’t tell if it needed to be at 100% hydration or 50%. Fed not fed. It was just so confusing trying to research. And they didn’t taste so good, either. Which is surprising because I love sourdough bread. *shrugs*
That’s when I found out that Red Star Yeast was sending some yeast our way and changed my research to traditional crumpet recipes. Yeah, I know. This is BY FAR a traditional crumpet recipe. Honestly, I headed down that path and, well, just like everything else I do, I got distracted by shinies.
I had planned on making these on Sunday. Really. Honestly and truly. I had the batter all ready to go, but something came up and I had to not cook them. Okay. Now, nowhere in my research did I stumble on an overnight crumpet recipe. NO.WHERE! I thought, “What’s the worst that can happen? I have to remake the batter and I’m out some flour, milk, and yeast. No big whoop!” So, in the fridge this crumpet batter went
Fast forward to Monday. Our #meatfree meal on Monday was a stir-fry type recipe, so I thought I’d pull the batter out of the fridge and cook up some crumpets. And then it hit me. I have a TON of delicious Cabot Cheese. Why not make a deliciously savory crumpet with some chipotle cheddar cheese in it? GENIUS! So, before I put the baking soda in the batter, I stirred in some of their delicious cheese. Seriously, that chipotle cheddar had my name all over it! The smoky delicious flavor was amazing. If you haven’t tried it, go now and get some. Seriously. I’ll wait.
See what I mean?? That chipotle cheddar is off a da hook!! And it was the perfect flavor for these crumpets. I could have eaten the whole batch. I probably will wind up doing that, because the hubs isn’t all that interested in them. Just not all in one sitting. Well, that remains to be seen, because I haven’t talked about the amazing candied Vidalia Onions.
Now, making chipotle cheddar crumpets like these comes with responsibility. The responsibility to make a just as epic topping to go on these babies. Then I remember the letter that came with our scrumptious Vidalia onions from the Vidalia Onion Committee. The letter challenged us to make something sweet with these onions. I mean, they’re like candy as it is, but then I thought, why not candy them!!
So, I did. I took the premise behind the candied jalapenos, and altered it for some onions. And OMGEE am I glad I did. These candied Vidalia onions are addictive. They’re naturally sweet with a little savory flavor from some thyme and kick from the crushed red peppers. They syrup that’s created when you make them could be eaten with a spoon. It’s that good.
And all the flavors in these Chipotle Cheddar Crumpets with Candied Vidalia Onions with come together just like that! The holes in the crumpets do their job of holding all that delicious syrup in. The chipotle has delicious smoky kick to the crumpets. It’s just amazing on plate.
I want to thank the Vidalia Onion Committee for the DELICIOUS onions and great swag! That onion head pin is on my desk at work! Love it!! Make sure to follow them on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instragram, and YouTube.
I also want to thank Red Star Yeast for their wonderful yeast that just outperforms any I’ve ever had. Make sure to follow them on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instragram,Google+, and YouTube.
Finally, a HUGE shout out to Cabot Cheese. They sent a LARGE amount of the cheese that the hubs and I have been nibbling and eating since we got it. I have another AMAZING recipe with their cheddar tomorrow. Stay tuned, because you’re NOT going to want to miss that one. So good. Make sure to follow them on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instragram, Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn.
Have you tried to make or even eaten crumpets before?
Chipotle Cheddar Crumpets with Candied Vidalia Onions
These Chipotle Cheddar Crumpets with Candied Vidalia Onions are not your granny’s recipe! The Cabot cheddar, Vidalia onions, and stellar Red Star Yeast all come together in these non-traditional crumpets.
Ingredients
For the Candied Vidalia Onions:
- 2 cups thinly sliced Vidalia onions
- 1 cup cider vinegar
- 3 cups sugar
- Pinch crushed red pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
For the Crumpets:
- 1 1/4 cup milk
- 1 3/4 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/4 cup shredded chipotle cheddar cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
For the Crumpets:
The day before:
- Place the milk in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on high 90 seconds. Check the temperature and if it’s not between 120 and 130, then continue to heat on high 15 seconds until the milk reaches between 120 and 130 F.
- Add the next four ingredients, flour through sugar; stirring well with a dough whisk or wooden spoon. The dough will be slightly thick, but not quite bread dough consistency. Refrigerate overnight.
The day of:
- Heat a nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Grease muffin rings and place in the skillet.
- Add the cheese and the baking soda to the batter, stirring well to combine. Allow the dough to sit 5 minutes before pouring the batter into the rings; filling them half full. Cook on medium until the top is full of bubbles and slightly dry on top; about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Remove the rings, flip the crumpets, and cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from heat and keep warm if serving immediately.
- Top with the candied onions drizzled with the syrup and serve.
- Store the remaining crumpets in an airtight container. Toast lightly before serving.
For the Candied Vidalia Onions:
- Place the onions in a non-reactive saucepan with the vinegar and sugar. Bring to a boil.
- Add the crushed red pepper and thyme. Lower the heat to medium, but still maintaining a rolling boil.
- Cook the onions for 7 to 10 minutes or until tender.
- Remove the onions with a slotted spoon and place in a sterilized jar fitted with a lid.
- Continue to boil the vinegar mixture 6 to 10 more minutes or until thickened.
- Carefully pour the vinegar mixture over the onions in the prepared jar. Wipe the rim clean and place the lid and ring on top.
- Turn the jar upside down for 5 minutes. Turn the jar over and allow to cool completely before refrigerating.
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Thank you to #BrunchWeek Sponsors: Red Star Yeast, Dixie Crystals, Cabot Cheese, Vidalia Onion Committee, Sage Fruits, Nielsen-Massey, KitchenIQ, and Le Creuset for providing the prizes free of charge. These companies also provided the bloggers with samples and product to use for #BrunchWeek. All opinions are my own.
My first attempt last month was a fail as well but you have inspired me to try again.
They ARE finicky, Wendy! Patience is definitely a virtue with them. The key, I think, is the slow cooking. Not like pancakes at all, but like you’re cooking bread on the stove.
These sound so good!
Thank you!
Ugh! I hate when you have to make and remake recipes—but lucky for me, you did all the hard work. Now I need to try my hand at crumpets 🙂
Thank you, Liz! I’ll continue to work on the sourdough ones, and probably some more traditional ones. They’re so good.