Doritos-style popovers

Prep: 15 minutes

Bake: 65-70 minutes

Rest: 1 hour

Makes: 6 large or 12 small

You can make the popovers a day or two ahead. To reheat, place them on a wire rack over a baking sheet and bake in a 400-degree oven for 6-8 minutes until hot and crisp. The recipe also doubles fine if you are feeding a crowd. If you are a bigger fan of Cool Ranch Doritos than Original, you can brush the tops of the hot popovers with a light coating of melted butter and sprinkle with ranch powder, or serve with a ranch butter made by mixing a packet of ranch dressing powder into a stick of softened unsalted butter. Look for tomato powder and cheddar cheese powder at some spice shops and online.

3 large eggs

2 cups milk, 2% or whole milk (just not skim)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly

1 3⁄4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cheddar cheese powder

1 tablespoon tomato powder

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening

1. Whisk eggs until light and foamy in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in milk and butter until incorporated.

2. Combine flour, cheese powder and seasonings in a large bowl. Whisk the milk mixture into the flour mixture until no lumps remain. Transfer batter to a large measuring cup, cover with plastic and let rest at room temperature, 1 hour. (Alternatively, batter can be refrigerated for 1 day. Bring fully to room temperature before proceeding with baking, at least 4 hours.)

3. Heat oven to 450 with the rack in the lower-middle. Generously smear shortening on the inside of a 6-cups large or 12-cups small popover pan; lightly dust the cups with flour, shaking and tapping to remove any excess. If you don’t have a popover pan, you can use a muffin tin; they just won’t “pop” quite as tall, but they will still be delicious.

4. Whisk the batter vigorously to make sure it is fully combined; pour into popover pan, filling each cup to about ½ inch from the top. (Don’t overfill; you might have a small amount of batter left over.) Bake without opening the oven door until fairly well popped and just beginning to brown, 20-25 minutes, but start checking at 15 minutes. Decrease the oven temperature to 300 degrees without opening the oven door; bake until popovers are golden brown all over, 35 to 40 minutes more.

5. Open the oven door; using a small skewer or the tip of a paring knife, poke a small hole in the top of each popover. Turn the pan if they are not coloring evenly. Close the door; bake until deep golden brown, 5-10 minutes longer. Remove from the oven; rest the popover pan on a wire rack. Poke each popover again with a skewer or knife; let cool, 2-3 minutes. Turn out popovers. Serve hot with the spread or filling of your choice.

Nutrition information per serving (for 6 popovers): 314 calories, 11 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 117 mg cholesterol, 40 g carbohydrates, 5 g sugar, 13 g protein, 571 mg sodium, 2 g fiber