Kids Cuisine

When my daughter says that to me, I know it’s time to alert the media. For dinner one night this week, I decided to think breakfast. And since we’d recently been to an apple orchard for some family picking, I also wanted to include apples in this breakfast-for-dinner night. I found just the recipe in Betty Crocker’s New Cookbook, a recipe for Puffy Oven Pancake. I read through the recipe and decided that my kids would like this creation best with the apple variation, and I forged ahead, not knowing exactly what the end product would be.

The recipe begins with butter melting in a pie plate. I then sprinkled brown sugar and apple slices onto the melted butter and mixed up a very basic batter of eggs, flour, milk, and salt, then poured that over the top. Thirty minutes later, I had two massive puffed up oven pancakes, and two very curious children. They were hesitant, but plunged forward, dousing their slices with syrup. When Abigail lit up and looked at me with wonder in her eyes, I knew we had a winner. Two additional slices later I was informed that this Puffy Oven Pancake was the best thing she’d ever eaten. How’s that for kid-friendly fare?

Puffy Oven Pancake, from Betty Crocker’s New Cookbook

• 2 tablespoons margarine or butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Lemon juice, powdered sugar, cut-up fruit, if desired

Heat oven to 400ºF. Melt margarine in a 9-inch pie plate in the oven, brush margarine up the sides of the plate.

Beat eggs slightly in medium bowl with wire whisk or hand beater. Beat in remaining ingredients except lemon juice until mixed (do not overbeat). Pour into hot pie plate.

Bake 25 to 20 minutes or until puffy and deep golden brown. Serve immediately sprinkled with lemon juice and powdered sugar.

Makes 2 to 4 servings.

Apple Oven Pancake: Prepare Puffy Oven Pancake as directed — except sprinkle 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon evenly over melted margarine in pie plate. Arrange 1 cup thinly sliced peeled baking apple (1 medium) over sugar. Pour batter over apple. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Immediately loosen edge of pancake and turn upside down onto heatproof serving plate.