Dutch Baby, Baby!

About a year and a half ago, I was up really late at night just flipping channels and landed on a network called "Create TV." Create is a PBS station that only shows TV programs that deal with DIY stuff like cooking, crafts, and home repair. I became obsessed with this channel. For a long time it was always on at our house. And what got me so obsessed was America's Test Kitchen and Cooks Country. These two shows inspire me every time I watch. I watched it so much that our little boy (who is 7 months now) can recognize the theme song and loves to sit and watch it with me. I had to get their cookbook, so Laura got me their America's Test Kitchen: The Complete TV Show Cookbook  that has all of the recipes from all 11 seasons of their show. We have been going through the recipes and every single one turns out to be our favorite. So you will probably see a lot of their recipe's, with our own little tweaks, show up on this blog. But I have to say, you need to watch their show, it's definitely one of the best cooking shows out there.

But one day I watched them make whats called a Dutch Baby. I have always known these as German Pancakes, but theirs looked so much more amazing than any German pancake I had ever been served. So we had to try it. The recipe is super easy, super quick, and tastes incredible. Perfect for those lazy Saturday mornings or when you want to have breakfast for dinner.

Dutch Baby

Adapted from Cook's Country by America's Test Kitchen

1-2 Tb vegetable oil
1 C flour
1/4 C cornstarch
a few scrapes of Lemon zest
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 1/4 c milk (they prefer skim milk but we used 1% and it was just as good)
1 Tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Powdered sugar
Maple syrup
Whipped cream

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.  Brush the oil on the bottom and sides of an oven-proof skillet. Place the oiled skillet into the heated oven for 10 minutes.

Combine flour, cornstarch, lemon zest and salt in a large bowl. Whisk eggs then add the milk, butter, and vanilla and whisk until incorporated.  This is important: whisk about half of the egg mixture into the flour mixture until smooth. This will prevent any lumpiness. Once smooth, add the rest of the egg mixture.

Pull out the hot skillet from oven and carefully pour the batter into the skillet.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until edges are crispy and golden brown. Remove from oven and slide the dutch baby onto a cutting board. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with your favorite french toast toppings. I really like the classic maple syrup and whipped cream, where Laura likes berries. The recipe also recommends just squeezing lemons on it.