What We Wish We'd Had for Breakfast: Dutch Baby

At breakfast time, many of us are caricatures of our best selves. We’ve got wet hair. We’re tearing to the subway or to our cars. Breakfast might be a quarter of a protein bar we found kicking around our handbags. Sad. Welcome to What We Wish We’d Had for Breakfast. 

Photo Credit: Phyllis Grant

What We Had: A cold seafood scallion pancake, dunked into a takeout container of congealed, cold khao soi, a classic Thai chicken noodle dish. Both of those foods are delicious when hot. Cold, at 8 a.m.? A little embarrassing.

What We Wish We’d Had: This Dutch baby, from Phyllis Grant, mom to Dash and Bella and the mastermind of this gorgeous blog about cooking for kids. Sometimes called Dutch puffs, Bismarks or German pancakes, Dutch Babies are a simple mixture of milk, flour, butter and eggs. You pop them in the oven, where they rise beautifully… or don’t. Words of wisdom from Grant: “Dutch babies are always different; you need to let go a bit. Sometimes they fly high. Sometimes they barely move at all. They’re a bit of a gamble. But a fun one.”

So it is with life. More to the point, says Grant: “A warning. You’re so screwed once you’ve made one with chocolate chips because your kids will always remember that one as their favorite.”

Dutch baby makers, beware. The recipe and more ogle-a-ble photos are here. Happy Monday