The last four days I’ve baked approximately 435 dozen cookies.
I do NOT exaggerate. Ever.
Last weekend, while baking a mountain of cookies, I suddenly craved cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread. Like, the kind of craving where you need it immediately. It’s December — everything feels festive: Christmas lights, candles, butter, sugar, snow and, for some reason, the hope that a few pairs of shoes will appear in my stocking.
I made the bread on Sunday and immediately fueled a full-on cinnamon sugar addiction.
Then Tracy posted spiced orange popovers, and my oranges obsession kicked in. We polished off a five-pound bag in three days, then I bought more to make another orange cookie recipe. I served some oranges at breakfast with thick-cut bacon, buttered toast and omelets, so naturally that made the meal healthy. ’Tis the season for light eating, right? Not.
Also, my husband was home all day — like a permanent holiday — which meant he was constantly around, in the way, and generally adding to the chaos.
I almost made the cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread again, but my kitchen was a full-scale bakesplosion from Monday onward and there was nowhere to roll dough unless I wanted to use the floor — which was also unclean. Plus, I’d eaten most of the oranges, so I couldn’t make Tracy’s popovers exactly as written. Instead I combined both ideas and turned them into minis, which, naturally, makes it acceptable to eat a billion of them.
And now I’m never baking again.*
Mini Cinnamon Sugar Popovers
Inspired by joy and tracy; adapted from my gorgonzola popovers and classic popover methods.
Makes 25–30 mini popovers
Ingredients:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups milk, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar + 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, mixed together for pan and topping
Directions:
- Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 450°F (230°C).
- Brush a mini muffin tin with melted butter, then sprinkle a little of the cinnamon-sugar mix into each cup.
- In a bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt until evenly combined. In a separate measuring cup, mix the milk, eggs and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined — a few lumps are fine; don’t overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared mini tins to within about 1/4 inch of the rim. Sprinkle more cinnamon-sugar on top of each.
- Bake for 10 minutes without opening the oven. After 10 minutes, reduce the temperature to 350°F (175°C) and bake until the popovers are golden and puffed, about 8–10 more minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 3–5 minutes. Brush or drizzle with the remaining melted butter and roll or sprinkle in more cinnamon-sugar. Serve immediately for best texture.
*Lies.