Sure, you can make popovers the old fashioned way by slathering your pan with oil or butter and then heating the pan at a high temperature before adding your batter. That method is a good way to burn yourself and, while you take the pan in and out of the oven (or try to pull it out on the rack) loose the heat you need to make your popovers pop. So why bother? Instead, use a cold oven method. It's safer and easier. The popovers will puff, be crisp on the outside, and have a slightly pudding-like center. My version uses a little Parmesan cheese, which gives the popovers extra flavor. If you aren't serving the popovers immediately, don't forget to prick them with a toothpick or knife tip (just a little, you don't have to slay them!) so that the steam inside them can escape. It's best, though to serve the popovers hot out of the oven, all puffed and browned, so people can say, "ooh! ahh!", before devouring them. Also, the popovers reheat nicely in the air fryer. Enjoy!
Cold Oven Parmesan Popovers -- Makes 12 Smallish Popovers
3 eggs
1 cup of low fat milk
1 cup of flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
You'll need a muffin pan that makes 12 muffins. Spray the bottoms of the 12 muffin wells with nonstick cooking spray and set the pan aside. Whisk the eggs and milk together well. Whisk the flour and salt into the egg/milk mixture until everything is well combined, but don’t whisk until everything is smooth (if you whisk too much, the popovers won’t “pop” much). Divide the batter among the 12 muffin wells, filling them about half full, then sprinkle a little of the cheese on top of each of the batter-filled cups. Put the muffin pan in a cold oven and turn the oven on to 450 degrees. Bake the popovers for about 30 minutes or until they are puffy and golden brown. Remove them from the oven and pierce them with a knife or toothpick to prevent their quick collapse.
