Popovers

One of the things I miss most with my new eating plan is not being able to savor the taste of hot bread with some cold butter slathered on the top. I purchased a Sunbeam bread maker some years ago and used to make my own challah, cinnamon raisin bread and whole wheat bread...and now it is sitting collecting dust. A pure tragedy.

Earlier this year, I was dining at a restaurant called BLT Steak and we were served popovers before our meal. It's difficult for me to eat dinner out because I never know what ingredients are in the food - so when it comes to stuff like that, I just pass the basket. But I later realized  you can make popovers without yeast...just flour, salt, milk and eggs.

Using alternative milk and flours does not always produce the same results when baking. But this morning I was going to find out. I prefer sweet breads so I used almond milk instead of whole milk and added some orange zest.

So what makes a popover "pop"? The high proportion of liquid in the batter creates steam that causes the popovers to puff up. In order to have perfect popovers DO NOT PEEK. Never open the oven until the popovers are finished baking. If you don't own a popover tin, you can make these in a regular muffin tin; they just won't be as tall and as pretty. When you remove popovers from the oven, unmold and place onto a rack. Pierce the sides with the tip of a sharp knife to let steam escape - this will keep the exterior crisp and prevent the popovers from collapsing.

Popovers

3 tbsp melted butter, divided

3 eggs

1 c milk, heated for 45 seconds (or substitute hemp, rice or almond milk)

1 c all-purpose flour (or substitute white whole wheat flour)

1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 packet Stevia

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Preheat muffin tin by placing it in oven for 10-15 minutes prior to baking.

In a blender or food processor, mix the eggs until pale yellow. Add the warm milk and blend. Add the remaining ingredients (with the exception of 1 tbsp butter) and blend. Brush the remaining butter on the muffin tins. Pour the batter into the warmed tins and return it to the oven.

Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350. Bake 20 minutes longer or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Cheesy Popover

If you want a heartier popover, use whole milk, and add the following:

1/4 c grated Cheddar

1/4 c grated Parmesan

2 tbsp chopped chives

1 tsp paprika

If you want to sweeten the bread, you can add a tsp of orange zest to the batter and this cinnamon sugar to the top:

Cinnamon Sugar

1/2 c sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 c unsalted butter, melted

Brush tops of popovers with cinnamon sugar mixture and serve warm.

All photographs are actual pictures of the recipe listed, prepared by Sweet Treats 'n Good Eats, and cannot be used without the owner’s consent.

What's for Breakfast?

If you ask me, sleep is way more important than getting up early in the morning to make breakfast, particularly when you don't go to bed before 3am. So oftentimes, I need some grab 'n go items so I can catch up on my much needed beauty rest.

One of my favorite muffins is the classic bran muffin. When I am not having it for breakfast, I sometimes eat it along with my grilled chicken breast salad at dinnertime. I'm not counting calories but we all need to work on making less trips to the fast food drive-thru and these don't necessarily taste healthy. They're really good! You get what I mean, right? They are also a great source of fiber.

For the cereal portion in this particular recipe, I will typically buy the store brand stuff...but let's just keep that between us. And as per the usual, I snuck a little alcohol in here too. Yes I know, even for breakfast.

Bran Muffins

1 1/2 cups bran cereal (plain)
1 c buttermilk
1/3 c vegetable oil
1 egg
2/3 c brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp brandy
1 c AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin tin or line with parchment paper.

Sift flour, soda, baking powder and salt and set aside.

Combine bran cereal and buttermilk in a bowl and let stand until buttermilk is absorbed. Beat oil, egg, sugar, and flavoring and add to the bran mixture. Stir flour mixture into buttermilk mixture. Fold in raisins. Spoon batter into prepared tins. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.

Now don't eat too many of these on the way to work or you might have a slight problem! Otherwise, enjoy!


All photographs are actual pictures of the recipe listed, baked by Virtually Everything Sweet, and cannot be used without the owner’s consent.