Loaded Cheesy Corn Bites

What happens when you cross a corn muffin with a loaded baked potato—and then miniaturize it?! Bite-sized bliss. Packed with cheese, bacon, and three types of corn, these loaded cheesy corn bites will be the first app gone at your summer cook-out.

The base:
The base of these corn bites is a lightly sweetened corn muffin with the flavor dialed to the max. Creamed corn and whole corn kernels join cornmeal in the batter for ultimate corny flavor, while a killer duo of sour cream and butter rounds out the batter and gives it richness. Though sugar might seem like an odd ingredient for a savory bite, it brings out the sweetness of the corn and balances all the savory flavors of the bacon and cheese.

The fillings:
In the fully loaded spirit, I stuffed these corn bites with everything you’d find on a loaded baked potato: bacon, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and scallions. Be sure to cook the bacon until it’s really crispy; slightly chewy bacon might be good to serve with eggs, but it’s not cute when you come across a piece of it in these bites. For maximum wow factor, top the baked bites with more of the same: little dollops of sour cream, crispy bacon, and thinly sliced scallions. Running short on time? Just put out the untopped bites with little bowls of sour cream, crispy bacon, and thinly sliced scallions, and let people top their own.

Storage:
Once topped, these bites should be eaten the day they’re made, but untopped bites can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Let come to room temperature before eating, or reheat in the microwave in 10 second intervals until just slightly warmed. If you have crispy bacon topping left (unlikely, but let’s pretend!), that can also be stored in an airtight container and reheated in 10-second blasts in the microwave, just to recrisp it.