quarantine breakfast

even though we are still working remotely, we have so much more free time now than we ever have had before.  ryan and i joked the other day that we have never had free time in our lives, and then we realized that wasn't a joke, it was the truth.

not having to commute to and from work leaves us with extra time for making delicious food.  on sunday, we wanted to use up some apples that we had in our kitchen, so we make mini cast-iron skillet apple dutch baby pancakes.  they were so good!  yum!

love, laurie

mini chocolate raspberry dutch babies

it's been a long time since we've made a dutch baby for breakfast (here and here).  we're pancake lovers, and that includes puffed pancakes baked in the oven.  one of our favorite local restaurants makes crazy flavors of cast-iron skillet dutch babies.  i saw on facebook that they were advertising a raspberry dutch baby with chocolate chips for valentine's day, and it inspired me to make my own version.

we used our mini cast-iron skillets which made cute little individual portions.  dutch babies are so easy because you mix all of the ingredients together, pour the batter into the hot skillets, and then let the oven do all of the work. 

we enjoyed ours with a dollop of vanilla yogurt on top along with some warm maple syrup!

mini chocolate raspberry dutch babies
prep time: 5 minutes
baking time: 20-25 minutes
yields: 4 servings

ingredients:
1 tablespoon salted butter, divided
4 eggs
1 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 cup raspberries

directions:
preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.  divide the butter between 4 mini cast-iron skillets and place the skillets in the oven while it preheats to melt the butter.  meanwhile, beat the eggs with an electric hand mixer on medium-high speed for 3 minutes.  mix in the milk and vanilla.  beat in the sugar, flour, and cocoa powder until completely combined.

remove the skillets from the oven and swirl the butter around to evenly coat the inside of the skillet.  divide the batter between the skillets.  place the raspberries in the batter and bake for 20-25 minutes until puffed and cooked throughout.

serve warm with yogurt and/or maple syrup.

enjoy!

love, laurie

nectarine dutch baby

we walked into the grocery store this weekend and we were greeted by a display of beautiful nectarines.  they look and smelled amazing so we just couldn't resist picking up a few.  i woke up on sunday morning thinking about those gorgeous nectarines sitting on our kitchen counter and i knew that i had to incorporate them into sunday morning breakfast.

this dutch baby is so light and tender and the fresh nectarine slices give it such a delicious flavor that tastes just like summer.  this is a super quick recipe to throw together.  just pour the batter into the hot skillet and let the oven do all of the work.  nice and easy for a sunday morning!

nectarine dutch baby
prep time: 5 minutes
baking time: 18-20 minutes
yields: one 10-inch dutch baby (2 large servings)
adapted from one vanilla bean

ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon salted butter
1 small ripe nectarine

directions:
preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.  while your oven is preheating, place a 10-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven to warm it up.  in a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, milk, eggs, and vanilla.  beat with an electric hand mixer until frothy and no lumps remain.  remove the cast-iron skillet from the oven and place the butter in the skillet.  allow the warm skillet to melt the butter completely then evenly swirl the butter around the bottom and the sides of the skillet.  pour the batter into the skillet and place thin nectarine slices on top of the batter.  bake for 18-20 minutes until puffed and golden brown.  remove from the oven and serve warm, dusted with powdered sugar or with warm maple syrup.

enjoy!

love, laurie

dutch baby with fresh berries

we've mentioned before that we are pancake fanatics.  we don't just love traditional pancakes, we also love baked puffed pancakes too.

dutch babies somewhat fall in the general category of pancakes (although they more closely resemble puffed pancakes than traditional pancakes).

dutch babies come together so easily with just a few simple ingredients, and you don't even have to stand in front of the stove to flip them like you would with traditional pancakes.  you just pour the batter into a hot cast iron skillet and put the skillet in the oven.  brilliant.

you won't find any baking powder or baking soda in this dutch baby, just whipped eggs.  those whipped eggs give the dutch baby a light and tender consistency.  the cast iron skillet gives the outsides of the dutch baby a slight crunch too.  so good!

there's no need for maple syrup either.  a combination of cinnamon and sugar along with fresh berries is the perfect topping for this dutch baby.

a warm dutch baby fresh out of the oven with cinnamon sugar and fresh berries . . . that's what breakfast is all about!

dutch baby with fresh berries
prep time: 5-10 minutes
baking time: 18-20 minutes
yields: 1 10-inch dutch baby (2 large servings)
adapted from joy the baker

dutch baby ingredients:
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1-2 tablespoons salted butter

topping ingredients:
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups fresh berries

directions:
preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.  beat the eggs with an electric hand mixer on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, until pale and frothy.  beat in the milk, flour, and cinnamon until completely combined.  the batter will be very thin.

place a 10-inch cast iron skillet on the stove over medium heat.  melt the butter in the skillet and spread the melted butter evenly around the bottom and the sides of the skillet.  remove the skillet from the heat and pour the batter into the skillet.  place the skillet in the oven, and bake for 18-20 minutes, until puffed and golden brown.

while the dutch baby bakes, mix the sugar and cinnamon together for the topping.  slice the fresh berries, and toss the berries with a few spoonfuls of the cinnamon-sugar mixture.  once baked, serve the dutch baby hot from the oven, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, and topped with fresh berries.

enjoy!

love, laurie