Sky-High No-Fail Popover Recipe from a cozy mystery novel by Joanne Fluke
BERNADETTE'S POPOVERS
Ingredients
Popovers
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups mild
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
Honey Butter
- ½ cup softened butter
- 1 Tbsp honey
Date Butter
- ½ cup softened butter
- 8 pitted dates, finely chopped
- 1 tsp flour
Lemon Butter
- ½ cup softened butter
- 1 Tbsp frozen lemonade concentrate
- 1 tsp lemon zest
Instructions
Popovers
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
- Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with Pam or other nonstick cooking spray. You can also grease them with clarified butter, or lard if you prefer.
- Whisk the eggs until they're a light, uniform color, but not yet fluffy. It should take no more than a minute or so.
- Add the milk and whisk it in until it's incorporated.
- Measure out the flour and dump it in the bowl all at once. Dump in the salt on top of it.
- Then stir for a moment or two with a wooden spoon until all the flour has been moistened and incorporated. You will still have lumps (like brownie batter) but that's fine. In this recipe, you actually want lumps!
- Transfer the batter to a container with a spout (I used a measuring cup). Pour the batter into the muffin cups, filling them almost to the top.
- Bake at 450 degrees F. for exactly 30 minutes. (Don't peek while they're baking or they'll fall!)
- When 30 minutes have passed, remove the pan to a cold burner or a wire rack and pierce the top of the popover with a sharp knife to release the steam.
- Let the popovers stand in the pan for a minute or two, and then tip them out into a napkin-lined basket.
- Serve with sweet butter, salted butter, fruit butters, jams, jellies, or cream cheese.
Honey Butter
- Soften the butter and place it in a small mixing bowl. Add the honey and stir until well blended. Scrape the mixture into a small serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
Date Butter
- Cut the dates into three pieces with a sharp knife and place them in the bowl of a food processor. Sprinkle them with flour and chop them with the steel blade until they're as finely chopped as you can make them. (You can add a little more flour if they stick together too much.) If you don't have a food processor, you can try this with a blender, or chop them with a sharp knife by hand.
- Mix the chopped dates with the butter, scrape the mixture into a small serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place one pitted date on top of the date butter so everyone will know what it is.
Lemon Butter
- Measure out one Tablespoon of frozen lemonade concentrate and let it come up to room temperature.
- Mix the lemonade concentrate with the softened butter. Add the lemon zest if you decide to use it. (It adds a lot!)
- Scrape the mixture into a small serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.