German Pancake Minis

My children’s favorite breakfast is German Pancakes. We got a delicious recipe from some friends several years back, and it is the breakfast of choice for birthdays, Saturdays, and any other “special” day. But, it takes a bit of time to make, and I am lazy in the mornings. I would rather be in bed than making breakfast for my munchkins. Why can’t cereal be healthy? Dang it!

Eventually I was smart enough to teach my kids to make German Pancakes for themselves. But before I learned that teaching a man to fish, per say, is the way to go, I looked for other alternatives.

Anyway, growing up we had German Pancakes Minis from time to time. German pancakes are those puffy pancakes. While my kids prefer the other recipe (found here), this is the one I choose on mornings when I want to please them, but want to please myself as well! Lol, meaning make it easier, but still give them what they want.

German Pancakes was one of my favorite breakfasts growing up, (and I guess I can say it still is!) My mom would always let me help her make them and when we finished I would sit in front of the oven and watch the batter puff up and grow as it baked!

These Mini German Pancakes are a fun twist to the traditional version and I love filling them with whipped cream and diced fruit! They not only look pretty, they’re TASTY and they’re the perfect individual size for everyone to enjoy! They also make a great patriotic breakfast for Memorial Day or the Fourth of July!

 Because they are “mini” or muffin tin size, it is easy to eat a bunch of them. So I sometimes will double the batch if we are feeding a crowd.
I am a big fan of hour they puff up all big and then sink in the center, making the perfect well for toppings like syrup! They are so light and fluffy, and the inside is basically hollow. Again, why you can eat so many without realizing it.

I feel like it’s a well kept secret how simple and easy German Pancakes are to make. Most people already have all of the ingredients they need to make them, and if you make these Mini German Pancakes, they only take 10 minutes to bake! 

Start to finish you are looking at no longer than 20 minutes! Easy, fast, delicious, and beautiful! That’s what we all aim for right?!

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups (295ml) milk
• 6 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups (117g) all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
• Scant 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 1/2 Tbsp (70g) unsalted butter, melted, divided

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter 20 muffin cups generously with 2 1/2 Tbsp of the melted butter. Dust muffin cups with flour then shake out excess, set aside.
2. In a blender combine milk, eggs, flour, salt, vanilla, and remaining 2 Tbsp melted butter and blend until well combined, about 10 seconds.
3. Fill prepared muffin cups about half way with batter (about 3 Tbsp each). Bake in preheated oven 14 - 17 minutes until puffed and golden (they might look like rounded muffins but they should deflate once you take them out of the oven). 
4. Run a knife around edges to loosen (if you have an older pan they will likely stick a little but you can loosen by running the knife around each). Serve warm with desired toppings.