To eliminate as much grease as possible, cook the bacon on a microwave safe plate with a paper towel underneath it. Place another paper towel on top and microwave the bacon for about 4 minutes, until crispy. Take it out and let it cool enough to handle, then crumble it up and set it aside.

Pre-heat the oven to 375 and line each of the wells of a 12 well muffin pan with paper liners. Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, chili powder, paprika, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. In another bowl whisk the milk, bacon, cream cheese, melted butter, eggs and maple syrup until smooth. Pour those wet ingredients into the big bowl of dry ingredients and whisk them together just until a smooth batter forms. A few lumps are ok since it is most important not to overwork the batter.

Switch to a rubber spatula and gently fold in the crumbled bacon. Scoop 1/3 cup of the batter into each lined muffin well, then get the muffin pan into the oven for 20 minutes. The muffins should be golden and a toothpick should come out clean.

Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then remove them to a rack to finish cooling. Unwrap them and serve immediately! They will also keep for a day or two in an airtight container.