Popovers are one of my favorite additions to a weekend breakfast.  These airy, eggy breads look impressive, but are fairly easy to prepare.  The one caveat is that, in my experience, investing in a real popover pan like the one pictured makes a huge difference. In an effort to avoid a single-use piece of equipment, my first popover attempts used muffin tins and yielded disappointing results. (I now use this popover pan from Chicago Metallic.)

Popovers

Makes six popovers

Ingredients

1 3/4 C half-and-half, warmed*
2 C flour**
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 eggs, at room temperature
2 Tbl butter, melted
1 Tbl Dijon mustard

Method

Heat the half-and-half in a saucepan over medium heat until just warm. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder. In a second bowl, combine the eggs, milk, butter and mustard - beat well to combine.  Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir until just combined. Let batter rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450F with a rack in the middle of the oven. Heat the empty popover pan for 5 minutes.  Carefully remove from the oven and, working quickly, spray the pan with a nonstick cooking spray and fill the cups almost to the top with batter.

Bake for 15 minutes without opening the oven door. Reduce heat to 375F and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, or until a rich golden brown. Remove popovers from oven and pierce the sides with a sharp knife to let steam escape (to ensure they won't collapse). Serve immediately with butter.

(*You can substitute whole milk. **I've used both all-purpose and bread flour (high-gluten) with good results.)