Smokey bacon and tart apples make this Dutch Apple Baby pancake the perfect breakfast for a lazy weekend morning.
We’ve reached the penultimate recipe for Nerd Month ( more on Nerd Month here ) and we’re doing one for Bob’s Burgers !
Bob’s Burgers is a bit of an odd duck. I resisted the show for the longest time because animated comedies (with the exception of Archer ) have historically not been my thing. But I kept hearing good things, so I finally watched the show when it came to Netflix and found that all the critical praise was completely valid.
This is one of the funniest, sweetest family sitcoms on television.
It’s not crass or crude like you might expect from an adult animated comedy (not a bad thing, just not usually my comedy jam). It’s a show about a struggling middle-class family full weirdos who love each other. There are great burger puns and the characters are some of the most relatable you’ll find on television .
Ummm, maybe a little too relatable, as the other day I realized that oldest daughter Tina’s frequent moan of distress is one I’ve made over things on this very blog many times…
Anyway, during their season four Christmas episode, the family takes a trip to a diner where everyone is just crazy over the diner’s Dutch Babies.
Fox via Tumblr
I had never even heard of the things before, so I was instantly intrigued. Fast forward to today, and I present to you a BACON Dutch Apple Baby.
Oh yeah. This baby got an bacon upgrade.
I’m so sorry for that pun.
(I’m not really that sorry.)
This recipe is for you heroes who insist on dipping your bacon in syrup to the disgust of everyone around you at the breakfast table. I’m one of you, I love you, and I think you are really going to like this recipe.
It’s a traditional Dutch Apple Baby with its classic custard base and tart apple filling made even better by replacing the butter in the recipe with bacon drippings and adding chopped bacon over the apples before pouring in the batter.
As you get that dramatic Dutch Baby puffing up of the pancake, the apples and especially the bacon rise with it, forming a slightly crisp top layer, so you end up with a breakfast dish that is savory and sweet and smokey, with tart apples and salty bacon in every bite.
It’s one of those recipes that you take a bite of it and go, Hmmm. That’s good. Then you take another and another and another and before you know it, it’s completely gone and you’re crying because you never want to eat anything but Bacon Dutch Apple Babies for the rest of your life.
Oh, and if that all sounds disgusting to you, you can totally just use butter, omit the bacon pieces, and eat your bacon on the side. It’s still delicious, and we can still be buddies (just not bacon buddies). 😉
This dish makes two really filling servings for big eaters, or three to four smaller servings.
Ingredients
Bacon & Cinnamon Apples
- ▢ 4 slices bacon
- ▢ 1 large Granny Smith apple
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 25 g) granulated sugar divided
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- ▢ Butter*
- ▢ 3 tablespoons ( 38 g) brown sugar
Pancake Batter
- ▢ 1/4 cup and 3 tablespoons ( 53 g) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- ▢ 1/2 cup milk whole or 2%
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ 2 large eggs
Instructions
Cook Bacon
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Cook bacon (using your preferred method) until crisp. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-covered plate and reserve the grease.
Prepare the Apples
- Peel apple and cut it into 1/4-inch thick slices and cut the slices into thirds. Set aside.
- Combine 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar, the cinnamon, and ginger in a small bowl and set aside.
- Pour 3 tablespoons of the reserved bacon grease into an 6x6-inch baking dish. All bacon is different, so if your bacon didn’t render enough grease, you can make up the difference with melted butter. Sprinkle brown sugar over the top and add apple slices, spreading them evenly over the brown sugar.
- Sprinkle granulated sugar mixture over the apples and place dish in the oven until apples are slightly cooked and mixture is bubbly at the edges, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Prepare the Batter
- While your apples cook, make the batter.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, the remaining tablespoon of sugar, salt, and nutmeg. Slowly whisk in the milk, stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming.
- Add vanilla and eggs one at a time, beating well after each. After the final egg, beat for 2 minutes, until mixture is foamy and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
- Chop bacon into 1/2-inch pieces.
- Once apples are done, sprinkle bacon over the top and then pour in pancake batter and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pancake has puffed up considerably and is golden and set in the center.
- The pancake will begin to deflate almost as soon as it comes out of the oven. This is completely normal. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or drizzle with a little maple syrup if desired and serve.
Notes
Nutritional Information Recipe Adapted From: TheKitchn
How to make easy homemade mashed potatoes without a recipe.
Good homemade mashed potatoes are something I think everyone should know how to make, because they’re such a reliable side dish. They’re a pretty universal crowd pleaser, and they pair so well with so many things. Serve them alongside chicken, under pot roast, or with creamed turkey . Almost anything tastes better with mashed potatoes on the side.
Plus, fresh, homemade mashed potatoes are SO easy to make there’s really no reason they ever need to come from a box.
A No-recipe Recipe
Today’s recipe isn’t really a recipe so much as a technique to learn so you never have to eat potatoes out of a box again (unless that’s your jam, in which case, enjoy). It’s completely customizable, and can be healthy (as healthy as you consider potatoes to be), or sinfully rich, vegan, or loaded with dairy.
This is the “recipe” I wish someone had handed me as a new cook, and I hope that after you follow it once, you never have to read a mashed potato recipe ever again.
Ingredient and Equipment Notes
- Potatoes: Russet potatoes, Yukon Golds, and red potatoes are all good options. Use what you have on hand or experiment and see which potato you prefer for your mashed potatoes.
- Milk or cream: You can use any (unflavored) milk or milk substitute or type of cream in your potatoes. The richer the dairy/dairy replacement you use, the richer your potatoes will be.
- Butter: Salted or unsalted butter will both work, as will margarine or non-dairy butter replacements.
- A tool for mashing: You can absolutely mash your potatoes with a fork, especially if you are making one or two-serving amounts, but eventually, I recommend investing in a potato masher like this one . They’re inexpensive, will make your cooking time go so much faster, and they’re also great for smashing bananas for banana muffins (mine definitely pulls double duty). If you like perfectly smooth and creamy potatoes, you can also use a potato ricer. It’s not my preferred texture, but maybe it’s yours. 😉
How to Make Mashed Potatoes
Since this is a non-recipe, there aren’t any measurements here. There’s no wrong way to make mashed potatoes, so just add a bit of butter, dairy, salt, and pepper, and taste. Add more if it doesn’t taste good, and keep going until it does. My mashed potato ratios change constantly depending on how rich I want them to be and yours probably will too.
Prep the potatoes: Peel and dice the potatoes. Place them in a pot and cover with cold water (starting with cold water will make sure your potatoes cook evenly all the way through and you don’t get soggy outsides.) Salt the water well with a teaspoon or two of salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Cook the potatoes: Boil the potatoes until they are tender (you should be able to easily smash a piece of one against the side of your pot with a fork), about 8 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and drain potatoes.
Mash: Using a fork or potato masher, smash potatoes in the pot. Add butter or margarine and a splash of milk or cream. Mix and add salt and pepper. Taste and add more butter/milk/salt if needed.
Can I cut my potatoes ahead of time?
You sure can. You can store cut potatoes in cold water in the fridge for up to 8 hours.
Can I freeze mashed potatoes?
Yes. You can freeze and reheat mashed potatoes. You can freeze single-serving portions individually or an entire pot of mashed potatoes. Store them in a freezer bag for up to 2 months. However, frozen mashed potatoes will never be quite as smooth and creamy as the were when freshly made. I usually prefer to make mine fresh.
What to serve with mashed potatoes?
Top your potatoes with Quick Gravy or Gravy from Drippings . My favorite mains to serve with mashed potatoes are:
- Tri-tip
- Roasted Chicken
- Country-style Pork Ribs
- Slow Cooker Beef Ribs
- BBQ Chicken Thighs
More Easy Sides
- Smashed Red Potatoes
- Parmesan Orzo
- Small Macaroni Salad
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Microwave Baked Potatoes
Ingredients
- ▢ Potatoes peeled and diced
- ▢ Butter margerine, or non-dairy butter
- ▢ Milk cream, or dairy replacement of choice
- ▢ Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place potatoes in a pot. Cover with cold water (starting with cold water will make sure your potatoes cook evenly all the way through and you don’t get soggy outsides) and salt water well with a teaspoon or two of salt. Bring to a boil.
- Boil until potatoes are tender enough that you can easily smash a piece of one against the side of your pot with a fork, about 8 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and drain potatoes.
- Using a fork or potato masher, smash potatoes in the pot. Add butter or margarine and a splash of milk or cream. Mix and add salt and pepper. Taste and add more butter/milk/salt if needed.
Super easy Tinto De Verano red wine popsicles made with your favorite red wine, lemon lime soda, and a homemade lime simple syrup. Delicious, boozy treats perfect for a grown-up summer.
Well, we made it. A whole month of nerdy recipes and Nerd Month is finally coming to a close with a show that is very dear to my black heart, Black Books .
Black Books (available on Hulu and Netflix) is an earlier effort from the creator of the IT Crowd (which also got the Nerd Month treatment in the form of Sea Parks Mashed Potatoes) . It’s just as funny but with slightly worse people.
Main character Bernard Black (possibly one of my favorite characters ever) is terrible, misanthropic, bitter, mean, and owns/lives above a book shop where he never seems to actually sell any books.
He is also quite fond of the drink and on one hot day, comes up with the best possible way of enjoying one.
Would that we all could be as brilliant as Bernard Black, (we can’t) but we can booze like him. Wine Lolly, anyone?
Coming up with these red wine popsicles was actually a ton of fun because I’m not a huge drinker of red wine and had no idea how to make it into a palatable popsicle. When I came across the Tinto De Verano cocktail, an easy mix of Spanish red wine and lime soda, I knew it would make the perfect summery popsicle.
I made a batch and while it was a good cocktail, the frozen popsicles were a little bland. So for round two, I added a lime simple syrup to the mix, and that did the trick.
You still have the deep richness of the red wine (use whatever type you like best), but the tartness of the lime and sugar sweet of the syrup make the popsicles so much tastier. If you are looking for a boozy frozen summer treat, it doesn’t get much better than this.
I think even Bernard Black would approve.
Going into summer without a popsicle mold? This is the one * I bought recently and am very happy with. The plastic base feels high quality and I’ve had no trouble with the lid catching on the sticks when you go to remove it, which seems to be a problem with a ton of models. I’ll report back next summer on the mold’s longevity, but so far, I love it!
Ingredients
Lime Simple Syrup*
- ▢ 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- ▢ 1/4 cup filtered water
- ▢ Juice of 1 lime about 2 tablespoons
Tinto De Verano
- ▢ 1 1/4 cups red wine
- ▢ 1 1/4 cups lemon-lime soda
Instructions
Lime Simple Syrup
- In a small pot, combine sugar and water. Heat over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves completely.
- Remove from heat and stir in lime juice. Set aside to cool slightly.
Mix
- In a large liquid measuring cup, combine wine and soda. Add cooled lime syrup and stir.
- Divide liquid between popsicle mold slots, leaving a little room at the top for popsicles to expand.
- Freeze for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Run popsicle mold under warm water and gently remove popsicles. Wrap individually in wax paper and store in an air-tight container.
- Serve with a napkin and enjoy!
Notes
Nutritional Information
Bacon Dutch Apple Baby For Two
Ingredients
Bacon & Cinnamon Apples
- 4 slices bacon
- 1 large Granny Smith apple
- 2 tablespoons ( 25 g) granulated sugar divided
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- Butter*
- 3 tablespoons ( 38 g) brown sugar
Pancake Batter
- 1/4 cup and 3 tablespoons ( 53 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 cup milk whole or 2%
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
Cook Bacon
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Cook bacon (using your preferred method) until crisp. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-covered plate and reserve the grease.
Prepare the Apples
- Peel apple and cut it into 1/4-inch thick slices and cut the slices into thirds. Set aside.
- Combine 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar, the cinnamon, and ginger in a small bowl and set aside.
- Pour 3 tablespoons of the reserved bacon grease into an 6x6-inch baking dish. All bacon is different, so if your bacon didn’t render enough grease, you can make up the difference with melted butter. Sprinkle brown sugar over the top and add apple slices, spreading them evenly over the brown sugar.
- Sprinkle granulated sugar mixture over the apples and place dish in the oven until apples are slightly cooked and mixture is bubbly at the edges, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Prepare the Batter
- While your apples cook, make the batter.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, the remaining tablespoon of sugar, salt, and nutmeg. Slowly whisk in the milk, stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming.
- Add vanilla and eggs one at a time, beating well after each. After the final egg, beat for 2 minutes, until mixture is foamy and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
- Chop bacon into 1/2-inch pieces.
- Once apples are done, sprinkle bacon over the top and then pour in pancake batter and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pancake has puffed up considerably and is golden and set in the center.
- The pancake will begin to deflate almost as soon as it comes out of the oven. This is completely normal. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or drizzle with a little maple syrup if desired and serve.
