{Tuesday Tip: Special Breakfasts}

My dad walked in the front door, smelled the aebleskivers, saw my powdered sugar-dusted children and looked at his watch. "Breakfast?" he queried. "It's 11:20!"

"We like to call it brunch," I smiled. "Do you want one?"

Although it was late, aebleskivers do tend to be an undertaking -- I had started them quite a bit earlier. Each little puff-like pancake (my pan holds seven) cooks for about six minutes. With six in the family, I double my recipe. Those puppies take a while. (Did I mention the egg whites need to be whipped to a state of perfect stiffness? I'm so thankful for my KitchenAid.)

But I grew up with this being perfectly normal. Special breakfasts were not just for special occasions. Saturday mornings often meant French toast, pancakes, waffles, Dutch babies, Swedish pancakes or aebleskivers. Friends staying the night looked forward to Mrs. Stevens' breakfast treats, and we were proud of our mom for the way she worked her magic over the mixing bowl. (She didn't have the benefit of a KitchenAid. Those egg whites were whipped with a hand mixer, making aebleskivers an even more impressive undertaking.)

This week we don't have any big plans for spring break, but one of the things I've enjoyed is having more leisurely breakfasts. (Well, brunches.) It's okay if it takes a while to serve up individual Swedish pancakes. We can linger and ease our way into the day over our breakfast treats.

With the busyness of normal life, it can be easy to slip into the habit of relying on cold cereal or an egg and toast for breakfast. But every once in a while, it's nice to make that little extra effort to start the day with a meal that really says, "Good morning!" And to kiss little faces that have the sweetness of berries and maple syrup on them.

* * * * *

Here's one of our favorites:

Dutch Babies

1 stick butter
3 eggs
1 C milk
1 C flour
1/4 tsp salt (optional)

Melt the butter in a 9 x 13 pan as the oven pre-heats to 450. In a blender, combine the remaining ingredients. Pour mixture over the melted butter and stir. Bake for 20 - 25 min. (And call the children when you're ready to take the pan out of the oven -- the fluffy golden edges are quite puffy, and it's fun to see it before it deflates!) Serve with maple syrup, fruit or powdered sugar. (Or, if you're my children, all of the above.) For a variation, pour the batter into individual ramekins. Super cute. Enjoy!

(Food allergies can make the breakfast menu feel limited. Check out my sister's blog for some healthier options: The Nourishing Apron.)