Baked Eggs in Prosciutto-Hash Brown Cups

My Eating Well magazine had a little spread this month about things you can make in your muffin tins that aren't exactly muffins. This one caught my eye...I mean, the egg is front and center, so I had to try them out. This recipe is delicious and pretty easy, BUT, it destroyed my already dying muffin tin. I highly, highly recommend either having a newer muffin tin (non stick) or using like a silicon baking cup...these can make a mess, despite the amount of oil or spray you use to cause them to not stick. I may have to try another method next time, but these are delicious. The egg is runny, but cooked, the prosciutto crisps up, and I mixed sweet potatoes with regular potatoes to add a little more fiber and vitamins. Two of these little guys make a perfect breakfast.

Baked Eggs in Prosciutto-Hash Brown Cups (inspired by Eating Well magazine)
Ingredients:
Canola or olive oil cooking spray
4 cups frozen shredded hash browns, fully thawed
2 cups shredded sweet potato
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1/4 teaspoon dried
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 thin slices prosciutto (about 3 ounces), halved crosswise
12 large eggs, at room temperature (see Tips)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously coat a 12-cup nonstick muffin tin with cooking spray.

2. Put hash browns in a clean kitchen towel; working over the sink, squeeze and wring the towel to remove as much liquid from the hash browns as possible. Transfer to a large bowl; stir in oil, rosemary, paprika, pepper and salt until combined. Divide the mixture among the muffin cups (about 1/3 cup each), then press into the bottom and up the sides of each cup to form a “nest.” (There should be a solid layer in the bottom of the cup, but it’s OK if the hash browns don’t go completely up the sides.) Generously coat the hash browns with cooking spray.

3. Bake the hash brown nests until golden brown on the bottom and edges, about 30 minutes.

4. Lay 1 piece of prosciutto into each hash brown nest, letting it overhang the edges. One at a time, crack an egg into a small bowl and slip it into a nest. (It’s OK if some of the egg white spills over.)

5. Bake, rotating the pan front to back halfway through, until the eggs are cooked to desired doneness, 10 to 15 minutes for medium set or 15 to 18 minutes for hard set. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of each nest a few times to loosen completely, then use the knife to lift them out of the tin. Serve sprinkled with chives.