Dutch Baby Pancakes
Have you ever woke to the sounds of your family asking if there was any clean laundry and thought to yourself.."didn't I just wash 5 loads yesterday?" Have you ever walked out into the living room to find that a container of confetti had exploded all over the dining room floor but only AFTER the entire bowl of cereal your child was eating had spilled?
If so, you know what I mean when I say...' Calgon, take me away!' But really, do I want to be taken away...absolutely not. Instead, I think I'd prefer making something that makes us all say "oooh! wow!" That would be why we tried this beauty of a recipe. It turned out to be a perfect way to bring us all together, to sit down and remember that all the spilled milk, confetti messes and laundry are oh so worth it.
If so, you know what I mean when I say...' Calgon, take me away!' But really, do I want to be taken away...absolutely not. Instead, I think I'd prefer making something that makes us all say "oooh! wow!" That would be why we tried this beauty of a recipe. It turned out to be a perfect way to bring us all together, to sit down and remember that all the spilled milk, confetti messes and laundry are oh so worth it.
If you care to have a taste, grab a bowl and stirring spoon and follow along with this easy recipe. Be ready for a great reaction from your family when you pull this out of the oven.
Gather all your ingredients:
3 T. butter
3 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk, room temp
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract ( none of that imitation stuff)
pinch salt
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Heat an iron skillet in your oven for a few minutes, until nice and hot! *** I am sure you can use any non stick, oven-proof pan but I love my iron skillets, so I recommend using one.
In the meantime, prepare the batter. You can either mix by hand, which requires a bit more effort but could possibly be counted as exercise. ( oh, how I wish) or.. you can do it the easier way and get out your blender, allowing electricity to help you out. Either way, blend together the following...
the eggs, flour, room temp milk, sugar, vanilla and pinch of salt. ** if blending by hand, be sure to mix the eggs and milk until your eggs are light and fluffy before adding the other ingredients.
Then, continue to mix until all ingredients are blended and lumps are gone.
Now, for the adventure....
Carefully, remove your iron skillet from the hot oven, place the 3 Tablespoons of butter in and swirl until well coated. Immediately pour the batter in to the skillet and place carefully in to the oven. Cook the pancake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and puffy.
*** this will be the time you'll want to turn the oven light on and pull up a chair for the kiddos... it's quite the sight.
Watch carefully the first time, as oven temps may vary... you definitely don't want to burn this (Dutch) baby.
When you feel that your creation is complete, open the oven door and carefully remove. Don't be alarmed if the pancake "sinks" just a bit, don't worry, the tastiness will still be there.
Notice, in the above picture, there are two of these beauties waiting...that would be because we doubled the recipe because well, why wouldn't you???
Now it's ready to slice and serve with some warm syrup (again the real stuff) and maybe a sprinkling of powdered sugar for effect. I'm thinking some fresh slices strawberries or blueberries would be delicious on top, as well.
Enjoy!
