Chocolate Beer Batter Cupcakes w/ Maplized Bacon and Maple Bacon Cream Cheese Frosting

I was invited to a bacon party - yes every food must have bacon in it ;o)  The invite said "bonus points for those of you who bring a bacon dessert" and well I took it as a personal challenge!  I found this recipe online  (http://www.justputzing.com/2012/06/chocolate-beer-batter-cupcakes-with-maple-bacon-frosting.html) and made some adjustments to it! They turned out so good and everyone loved them!

** Recipe makes approximately 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

(Cupcakes)

• 1 cup Deschutes Black Butte Porter
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 2 cups flour
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

(Maple-Glazed Bacon)

• 12 strips bacon
• 1/3 cup maple syrup

(Frosting)

• 8oz block cream cheese, softened
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp candied bacon drippings

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line two muffin tins with cupcake liners and set aside.
2. Start by cooking the bacon.  Cut your bacon into small chunks (leave about 24 inch-long strips for garnish).
3. Cook your bacon in a frying pan until crispy.
4. Add about maple syrup to pan and allow the bacon to become candied. 
5. All your bacon to cool in the pan and separate the pieces by hand when warm (I used a non-stick pan so no problem getting the bacon out).
6. While the bacon is cooling, prepare the cupcakes.
7. In a pot or large sauce pan, simmer the beer and butter on medium until butter is completely melted.
8. Add cocoa powder and chocolate chips and stir until your mixture smooth. Take off heat and set aside to cool.
9. In a large bowl, stir eggs and yogurt together until smooth. Slowly add chocolate mixture and vanilla.
10. Add dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
11. Add about 1/2 the bacon pieces (only the small pieces, not the strips) to the batter.
12. Place in cupcake liners and bake for 15 minutes. 
13. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
14. While your cupcakes are cooling, start making your frosting. 
15. In a large bowl, beat together butter and cream cheese until smooth and well-incorporated.
16. Add powdered sugar, maple syrup and bacon grease. Mix until smooth.
    ** Add more powdered sugar, as necessary, to achieve desired consistency.
17. Spoon frosting  into a piping bag, and frost each cupcake.  I used a quart-sized ziplock and cut a small hole at the end.
18. Frost the cupcakes then garnish each with a slice of bacon, small pieces of bacon, and a little bit of maple syrup.  I also added gold sugar sprinkles to the top.
19. Enjoy!