Parmesan-Garlic Popovers

Popovers crack me up.  It’s really very difficult to take them seriously, when the moment you take them out of the oven looking all gorgeous and sophisticated, they immediately collapse and are like “just kidding!”  Because really there’s nothing very sophisticated about them at all.  They’re a total breeze to throw together and they’re one baked good whose appearance you never have to apologize for.  No matter how perfectly you cook them, you can count on them crumpling in on themselves in all manner of strange contortions and ending up looking rather goofy. 

But goofy is NOT how they taste, especially this particular version which we have infused with garlic and parmesan cheese.  Oh, my, were they ever good. 

I used to make popovers all the time when the kids were little.  It was one of their favorite evening treats cuz we filled em with jam and butter.  But for some reason, I haven’t made popovers in like 20 years, which is just plain stupid if you ask me.  I honestly just forgot how good they are. 

 But now that I've been reminded, I'm pretty sure they’ll be a regular around here again.  Here’s the recipe…

Parmesan-Garlic Popovers

Recipe adapted from Relish magazine

Heating the milk briefly with the garlic infuses the milk with a subtle garlic flavor and makes the butter easier to incorporate. You can bake popovers in a special popover pan, glass custard cups or standard muffin tins; either way, preheat the cups so the batter can crawl up the sides and rise to full capacity. See below for more tips.

Ingredients
   3/4 cup all-pupose flour 

   1/4 cup whole-wheat flour

   1/4 teaspoon salt

   3 - 4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

   1 medium garlic clove, finely minced

   1 cup of 2% reduced fat milk

   1 tablespoon butter, melted

   2 eggs, beaten

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. In a bowl, stir together flours, salt and cheese. In a large glass liquid measuring cup or bowl, add garlic to milk and heat milk until just lukewarm, about 30 seconds in the microwave. Whisk in butter and then eggs. Gradually add flour mixture, stirring with a whisk.
3. Place popover pans or muffin tins in preheated oven 3 minutes. Remove from oven and spray liberally with cooking spray. Divide batter among cups, filling until half full. Bake 10 minutes; reduce heat to 350F and bake 15 to 20 minutes, until golden. (The insides should be soft but not gummy.) Remove from pans and serve immediately. Popovers will deflate. Makes 6 full-size popovers or 12 muffin-size popovers.

Tips:

1.  The whole wheat flour in these gives them a little more heft than a traditional popover.  If you like a lighter popover, use all white flour.

2.  The recipe calls for 1/4 teaspoon of salt, but I might add more next time.

3.  The Husband does not like an assertive garlic presence in his food, so instead of mincing the garlic, I cut it into thirds and just before adding the milk to the batter, I removed the garlic.  There was a nice hint of garlic without it being overpowering.  

4.  Make sure that your baking tins or cups are really hot and your oven is thoroughly preheated to get the maximum rise out of the popovers.

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Comments

[Gina Kurakis]

I adore popovers and these look so good! I can't wait to try them!

[Maryanne Meyer]

Goodness! These popovers are calling to me! Thanks for the recipe!

[Renee]

I now am officially craving popovers!

[amy@currylime]

What a lovely twist on popovers!

[myfudo]

You can never really judge popovers just by looking at them...This I have to try. Garlic & Parmesan would be a great mix! I must admit, your popovers look neat...Surely they'd taste superb too!

[Olivia Leander]

We love popovers and this version sounds awesome! Nice photos!

[Alicia]

Yummy! They look divine.

[Patrice Berry]

Thank you, Olivia. Hope you give them a try. Nice to hear from you!