When I was growing up, on special weekends, we would spend the night at my grandmother's. We would stay up late playing cards, and in the morning, we would sit down to a special breakfast of Dutch babies.

Special occasion breakfasts have to have certain qualities to make them truly special: Just enough effort to make them too lengthy an endeavor for a regular weekday breakfast, but not so hard that you have to wait to eat. And of course, they have to be delicious. Dutch babies are all of these and more. They're puffy and eggy, with a slight sweetness. They're easy to make: while they do take 30 minutes to bake, most of the time is hands-off. And best of all, they're perfect for topping with your favorite flavorings. Some may choose jam; others will opt for confectioner's sugar and lemon. Pumpkin butter or apple butter are excellent choices as well, and you can even mimic traditional pancakes and choose your favorite organic maple syrup. However you choose to serve them, consider these delicious morsels for breakfast this Christmas morning... your family will thank you!

Dutch Baby Recipe (serves 4)

3 tabelspoons butter
1/2 cup flour
3 tabelspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
2 eggs 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place 2 tablespoons of the butter in a cast-iron skillet and place it on the middle rack of the oven.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter. Set aside to cool as you prepare the other ingredients.

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla and eggs. Add the last butter, whisking to combine.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet. Mix just to combine.

Remove the skillet from the oven and rotate it to make sure that the butter has entirely coated the skillet. Pour in the batter. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the edges puff up and turn golden brown. Serve immediately.

Image: joyosity