Joy to the Food

0 Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lay [wprm-ingredient text="5 slices bacon" uid="5"] and [wprm-ingredient text="1/2 yellow onion" uid="4"] (diced small) on a foil-lined tray and bake for 15 minutes or until crispy. Remove bacon and onions.  If you use bacon bites, you can skip this step entirely. A silicon muffin mold is so great here! Otherwise, I recommend preparing a muffin tin with liners. 
1 Make a steam bath by reducing the oven to 350°F. Place a rimmed baking dish on the bottom rack. Boil a pot of water (or boil it in an electric kettle) and carefully pour this into the rimmed baking dish. This creates a steamy environment that gives the creamy texture of Starbucks egg bites!
2 Blend [wprm-ingredient text="9 eggs" uid="0"], [wprm-ingredient text="14 oz cottage cheese" uid="1"], [wprm-ingredient text="6 tbsp all-purpose flour" uid="3"], half of the gruyere cheese, [wprm-ingredient text="1/4 tsp salt" uid="6"], [wprm-ingredient text="1/4 tsp pepper" uid="7"], and the optional [wprm-ingredient text="1/4 tsp red pepper flakes" uid="8"] until smooth (45-60 seconds).
3 Assemble by pouring the egg mixture into a muffin tin with room for 12 muffins. Sprinkle the crumbled bacon and onions evenly over each egg muffin, then stir lightly to distribute. Top with the remaining shredded gruyere cheese. We fill our muffin tins pretty full, but depending on the size of your muffin cups, you might end up with more than 12 bites.
4 Bake for 20 minutes on the upper rack and leave the pan filled with water beneath. When done, the center should be set but slightly jiggly. Broil for the last 5 minutes for a golden finish.