Parmesan-Herb Popovers

I don't know about you, but I love making bread to serve with meals. I almost always have garlic bread to pass at the table, or on a rare occasion, I will make a loaf in the bread maker. When I saw these little popovers, I knew I wanted to make them immediately. They are beyond easy too. I made them while our dinner was already in the oven. 

I already had every ingredient in my pantry or fridge. If you cook a lot, you will definitely have all of these things at home- which is always a bonus. I see it as free food when that happens :)

All you need is a standard 12-cup muffin pan.  says to warm up the pan in the oven first, but I skipped that because I had food in the oven already! Spray the pan with non-stick spray (or butter would be REALLY good), and mix the flour, melted butter, eggs, milk and salt. I just used a whisk, and it worked well.  Next, just fold in your chopped herbs and parmesan. I had a block of parm in the fridge, so I used that and grated it myself. I think it made a difference compared to the store bought shredded cheese.

After it is combined, transfer the batter into a meauring cup with a little spout for easy pouring and fill all 12 with batter. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes, then turn it down to 400 and bake until they are golden brown.

Yum! Remember that these are POPovers, so they tend to deflate. The recipe said to serve them immediately. However, once they were cooled, we transferred them to plastic bags and held onto them for a few days. I thought they still tasted great! The fresh herbs are a must...

PARMESAN HERB POPOVERS

Adapted from The Art and Soul of Baking, by Cindy Mushet

• 1 cup whole milk (I used a little half and half with water because I was out!)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup (5 ounces) unbleached, all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped herbs: rosemary, thyme or sage

1. Preheat oven to 450ºF and position an oven rack in the center. Lightly coat the muffin pan with melted butter or high-heat canola-oil spray. Once the oven is fully heated, heat the prepared muffin pan in the oven for about 7 minutes.

2. In medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, melted butter, flour and salt until well blended. Then add the herbs and cheese, blend well.

3. Using a spatula, scrape the batter into a measuring cup. Remove the pan from the oven and pour the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Return the pan to the oven and bake for about 15 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 400ºF and continue baking the popovers until they are puffed and deep golden brown color.

4. Remove from oven and cool pan on rack for a few minutes. Remove popovers from pan and serve hot.