Gingerbread Spice Dutch Baby

    Breakfast. It's recently become my favorite time of day to indulge in something special - taking time out of your weekend or day off to make a morning treat is always a great idea. Back in October, during Hurricane Sandy when I was trapped at home, I made a delicious Pumpkin Dutch Baby. Last weekend we had a big snowstorm here in New York City, and I decided to make another storm Dutch baby. And with my new favorite cookbook staring at me with a delicious-looking recipe, it was perfect timing.

   A Dutch baby is essentially a large, oven-baked pancake. This one is flavored with gingerbread spices, making it perfect for a freezing cold morning (alongside a big cup of tea, of course). The batter is poured into a skillet with some melted butter and then baked until it puffs up and the edges get all crispy and amazing. Pour on the maple syrup or dust it with powdered sugar, and your weekend treat just got ten times simpler (and yummier).
   Enjoy!

Gingerbread Spice Dutch Baby

(from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook)

2 large eggs
1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon molasses (I ran out, so I used maple syrup)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Powdered sugar or maple syrup, for topping

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the eggs in a blender and blend until smooth and pale in color. Add the brown sugar, molasses, flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, salt, and milk and blend until smooth.
Melt the butter in a 9-inch ovenproof skillet over high heat, swirling it up the sides to evenly coat the pan. Pour the batter into the skillet and transfer to the oven. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pancake is puffed up. Remove from the oven and  dust with powdered sugar or drizzle with maple syrup.
  -serves 1-2