Popovers!

Now that the wedding is over and I am starting to have a little bit more time on my hands, I decided to make this blog a little bit more official by establishing my own domain: fitgirlfare.com! This is very exciting and means there are many many more recipes and posts to come. This will be the last post on the current blog so please, check out the new site and continue to read my posts there. And now on to the important stuff... Popovers!

I like to think that Popovers were one of the first foods that I totally mastered. They say it’s hard to make popovers turn out in a new oven and its generally luck of the draw, but I’ve found that my recipe is pretty fool proof. Plus, who cares if they don’t pop right or look a little funky, they always taste delicious! Popovers probably aren’t a food you thought you would ever see on a healthy living blog, however, I’ve made some modifications to at least make them a little bit less unhealthy and having one or two isn’t going to get me off track – it’s all about balance and moderation, right?

The trick with popovers is patience. I am not the most patient person in the world especially when it comes to food, but the batter needs to rest after you mix it up. If you don’t let it rest, I find that they don’t rise quite as well and they become eggy on the inside instead of light and airy. Some recipes tell you to get everything at room temperature and then mix it up, but I have always mixed everything together and let it sit on my counter to rest while it comes to room temperature.

I have also become quite adventurous with my popovers. Black Pepper and Gruyere are a great addition and, if you’re really splurging, bacon, chive, and cheddar is an awesome combination. For breakfast you can add a little bit of cinnamon, vanilla, and sugar and you have makeshift donuts! If you are adding cheese or any non-spice ingredient make sure to add it on top after you pour the batter into the cups. If you add it directly to the batter the popovers don’t work as well.

Popovers
Total time 1.5 hours
Makes 4-6 popovers depending on the size of your pan

2 large eggs
1 cup Skim Milk (this is my “healthier” substitution, most recipes call for whole or 2%)
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbs butter melted and cooled

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and then stir in the rest of the ingredients leaving some lumps. You don’t want the batter to be completely smooth – according to Alton Brown, the lumps help to create more lift! Let the batter sit for at least a half an hour. I don’t think it can sit out for too long, but keep in mind there are eggs and milk in there.

Once the batter has rested, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Put your popover pan in the oven while it is preheating so that it can get hot. If you don’t have a popover pan you can use a muffin tin or you can use small glass cups (like Pyrex). Let the pan heat up in the oven for at least 5 minutes after the oven has pre-heated. While it’s getting hot, cut enough pieces of butter to go in each cup that will get filled with batter. The pieces should be about ¼ of a tbs. Remove the hot pan and put the butter in each cup. Then fill with the batter. You should fill the cups about ½ to ¾ of the way. Any fuller and you will make a mess of your oven. Plus, they don’t seem to get any bigger if you fill them more, just more eggy on the inside.

Bake the popovers for 40 minutes without opening the oven. If you open the oven during this time they will fall. The popovers should be golden and puffy when you take them out of the oven. Immediately, pierce each popover with a sharp knife to let out the steam. This will help to keep them crunchy on the outside and should prevent them from falling. Serve right away!