Popovers: My new favorite breakfast treat

I had never heard of popovers until my BFF Bonnie received a popover tin for Christmas a year or so ago from her mom.

"What is a popover tin and why do you need it?" I asked.
"To make popovers," Bonnie replied.
"Oh.  What is a popover?"

Anyway, this conversation probably never happened, but the following facts are, indeed, true.
1.  Bonnie received a weird tin for Christmas.
2.  I had no idea what the tin was used for.
3.  I had never heard of popovers.

Bonnie and I ended up making the popovers, so I eventually learned what they were and observed the queer popover tin.  The popover itself is a baked egg bread that puffs up when you cook it and "pops over" the side of the tin.  The tin itself consists of six deep cups that force the dough to grow up and up until it "popped" over.  We baked the popovers, and it was fun, but I dismissed the concept of this strange food because I didn't have a popover tin, I didn't want a popover tin, and I wasn't really that impressed by the "popover" itself.

Then, I came across a recipe for popovers in a vegetarian cookbook I've been trying to get myself to use (The Vegetarian Family Cookbook).  The author told me that I did not need this one-trick-pony popover pan, but that I could instead rely on my old friend, the muffin tin.  I tried her recipe, and though delicious, I was saddened to see that instead of "popping," the popovers "plopped."

But, surprise, surprise, America's Test Kitchen came through for me again.  I like their approach to recipes because they use a sort of scientific trial-and-error to perfect their recipes.  Awesome.

I baked up a batch this morning, and I think I can consider myself a convert!  If you like toast and jam, consider this a classier, more adult version of your old favorite.

Popovers (adapted from America's Test Kitchen)
Yield:  12 popovers (using a muffin tin)
Time:  1 hour to prep the mixture, 35 minutes to bake popovers

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups milk, heated to 110 degrees F (ATK recommends low-fat, but I only had 2%, and they turned out great)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine (I know, butter is superior, but again, I only had margarine, and it worked great)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Preparation:
1.  Move oven rack to middle position, and preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Spray the muffin tin with a non-stick spray.  Whisk the eggs in a large bowl until light and foamy.  Slowly whisk in the milk and butter until mixed.
2.  Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a medium-sized prep bowl.  Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until no lumps remain.  Cover the batter and let rest at room temperature for one hour.
3.  Briefly whisk the batter to recombine.  Pour batter into muffin cups to about 1/4 inch from top of cup.  Bake for about 15 minutes (until slightly brown).  Poke a hole in the top of each popover and LOWER THE OVEN TEMPERATURE to 350 degrees F.  Bake for another 20 minutes.  After removing from the oven, let the popovers sit for at least 2 minutes before eating.  These are also good stored in an air-tight container for at least two days.

I think these taste great with a smear of apricot jam/jelly, but they're also great with butter and a little cinnamon. 

Substitutions:
All-purpose flour:  You can substitute between 1/4 to 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour in this recipe.  Whole wheat flour absorbs water more readily than all-purpose flour and it tends to make baked goods denser, so take care not to substitute too much.