Make Adorable Mini Dutch Baby Pancakes With A Baking Tool You Already Have

When you want a sweet, decadent breakfast, the Dutch baby is the way to go. For anyone unfamiliar, a Dutch baby is a large fluffy pancake, baked in a skillet in the oven, with crispy edges and a custardy center. Because a typical recipe yields one large pancake, the Dutch baby is then often cut into slices for serving.

While this method works just fine, there's another option for preparing single serving Dutch babies — and it involves using a baking tool that you probably already have: A muffin tin. By using a muffin tin, you can make mini Dutch babies that are much easier to serve to multiple people; each person can grab one, two, or however many they want.

For a typical Dutch baby recipe, you will heat up butter in a skillet using the oven before adding in the blended batter. The process for mini Dutch babies is similar — add a bit of butter to each muffin cup, then place in the oven. Finish the process by pouring the batter into the muffin cups and baking. The only difference is the baking time may be less since the mini Dutch babies are much smaller than a typical one. Start with 15 minutes, then check to see if the edges have puffed up and turned golden brown in color.

If you're serving mini Dutch babies for a crowd, be sure to have plenty of toppings for your guests to choose from. The simplest way to serve a Dutch baby is with a dusting of powdered sugar. Many people also like to add a drizzle of maple syrup — it is a type of pancake after all.

And just like regular pancakes, Dutch babies pair beautifully with fruit. It's definitely a good idea to have fresh fruit on hand such as strawberries, blueberries, or blackberries, along with powdered sugar and maple syrup. Another way to implement fruit is to serve the Dutch babies with jam, either homemade jam or your favorite store-bought brand. Similarly, lemon curd is a great addition if you want to bring in some tartness to balance out the overall sweetness of the dish.

You can also experiment with drizzling flavored syrups, such as cinnamon apple syrup or something fruity like blueberry syrup. On the other hand, there's also the option to top it with whipped cream, which makes it a bit more decadent without adding in too much extra sugar.

Aside from sweet mini Dutch babies, if you make them savory they become the perfect appetizer for a dinner party or a savory brunch meal. Making the Dutch babies savory could be as simple as adding in a bit of cheese and chopped fresh herbs to each muffin cup after pouring in the batter. Mix and match the type of cheese and herbs exactly to your liking — perhaps mozzarella and chives or parmesan and parsley. How about using garlic butter instead of regular butter in the first part of the recipe?

Or, you could integrate veggies into the mix. Broccoli and cheddar would work well. Or try chopped spinach and feta. Really, any veggie would work here — although some veggies, like peppers or tomatoes, you want to roast or sauté first to release some moisture. And if you don't want to go the veggie route, you can integrate some type of meat, such as crumbled bacon or sliced, cooked chicken sausage, as this will make the savory Dutch baby extra hearty and filling.