It’s day two of SSS … a Suite of Sweets for Sweethearts. With that wintry stuff moving into our area again, I thought I’d share this recipe for melt-in-your-mouth breakfast (or dessert) popovers, namely these Gluten-Free Cinnamon-Sugar Crusted Popovers. (The almonds are optional.)
These popovers can surely make your forget about your “I’m over winter” blues. They would also be ideal for breakfast on Valentine’s Day morning … or brunch … or afternoon tea.
Frankly, I can’t think of any time these popovers wouldn’t be good.
Each time, I’ve made these popovers, if there were more than two of us eating them, they disappeared in mere minutes. These popovers even inspired Mr. GFE to suggest that there should be a special feature here on gfe—Mr. GFE’s Recipe Pick of the Month. Of course, this recipe would be his first pick, he said.
Son proclaimed these popovers to be the closest thing to a cinnamon bun that he has eaten since going gluten free. (The cinnamon-sugar mixture I always use is very heavy on the cinnamon.)
Then Son ate four, in fairly rapid succession … even after he’d stated that he was only going to eat half of the fourth one. Maybe this recipe should be called Mr. GFE’s Top Pick Willpower-Busting Popovers.
These popovers were a family collaboration of sorts. It was Son’s idea to prepare a little honey butter (using raw honey from our bees) for topping these popovers. That was a brilliant idea!
I’ve added almonds to my recipe, which Mr. GFE and I love. For those with nut allergies, skip the almonds and you will still have delightful gluten-free Cinnamon-Sugar Crusted Popovers.
Gluten-Free Cinnamon-Sugar-Crusted Popovers Recipe
Cinnamon-Sugar-Crusted Almond Popovers

Ingredients
For the popovers:
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted (non-dairy should work)
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup milk (whole, 2 %; non-dairy milk works, too)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 cup gluten-free flour mix (I used my Two-Ingredient Gluten-Free Flour Mix)
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
For the topping:
- about 1/3 cup of sliced almonds (optional)
For the sugar coating:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (more or less depending how much you like cinnamon)
For dipping:
- 1/4 cup melted butter in small bowl
- Softened butter, for greasing the pan (I always just use a butter wrapper.)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400º F. Grease a nonstick popover or muffin pan (with 1/2-cup indentations), with softened butter.
- For the popovers, put the 2 tablespoons melted butter, eggs, milk, salt and sugar in a blender and blend for a few seconds.
- Add the flour and blend for about 10 seconds, just until smooth.
- Pour into 9 greased molds, filling each about 2/3 full.
- Sprinkle each with about a teaspoon of sliced almonds.
- Bake for 35 minutes, or until the popovers are golden/deep brown. (I do my usual toothpick doneness test.)
- Toward the end of the baking time, you’ll want to get ready for the popovers by creating a little assembly line for final processing. Melt butter in a small bowl and place on your work space. Mix cinnamon and sugar in another small bowl and place to the right of the butter. Place plate or napkin-lined basket to the right of the cinnamon-sugar bowl.
- Remove popovers from the oven. At this point, you can wait a few minutes until they are cool enough to handle or you can do what an impatient person (that would be me!) does. I stick a toothpick in each popover, remove it from the pan and follow an assembly line process. Dip the popover in the bowl of melted butter rotating until bottom and sides are buttered. (Alternatively, you can brush the butter on the popovers using a pastry brush.) Keep the popover on the toothpick and dip into the bowl of cinnamon-sugar. Roll bottom and sides into mixture. Place on plate or in napkin-lined basket. Each one is a warm, buttery, cinnamon-sugar bundle of goodness ready to eat!
Notes
I adapted this recipe from David Lebovitz's Sugar-Coated Popovers recipe (an adaptation of an earlier recipe of his shared both in the New York Times and this Maida Heatter cookbook).
That last photo is actually of recovered, "mistake" popovers that I made during our last snowstorm. As soon as I popped the muffin pan into the oven, I saw the bowl of melted butter sitting on the counter. I had gotten distracted by a couple of "brown-outs," while preparing the batter.
Long ago, I might have scrapped the whole batch and started anew. Not any more ... I set the muffin pan on the stove and spooned a little melted butter into each muffin cup and gave a tiny stir, then replaced the muffin pan in the oven and baked per usual. As you can see, the popovers suffered no ill effects.
I also had forgotten to allow the eggs to come to room temperature. No worries ... the recipe still worked fine. The popovers might have turned out a teeny tiny bit better if the eggs had been at room temperature, but we certainly didn't find anything to complain about.
Enjoy, and if you’re on the snowy East Coast of the U.S., stay safe.
These gluten-free Cinnamon-Sugar Crusted Popovers will take care of the usual, second part of that parting statement— “stay warm“—at least for a bit. They’ll warm your tummy and bring some sunshine into your life.
Later, you can enjoy yesterday’s SSS offering … Surprise Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, because at this point, I really don’t think you want to be eating that snow cream. Just sayin’.
Originally published February 9, 2010; updated July 22, 2023.
H.Peter says
NICE!! These look amazing.
I want a dozen please
Shirley says
Thanks, H.Peter. 🙂 You got ’em! I’ll have to make a double batch, but hey, not a problem. 😉
Shirley
Kim says
Wow….another amazing recipe!! I need to make these!!
Shirley says
Hey Kim–Thanks so much, dear. 🙂 I am tempted to say that if you only make one of my gfe recipes, make this one. They are really that good!
Shirley
Alta says
These look awesome, and easier than cinnamon rolls!
Shirley says
Hi Alta–Thank you! I asked Mr. GFE if he thought these popovers tasted like cinnamon rolls … he said “oh, yeah, they have that cinnamony taste, but the best part is the middle that just caves in and melts in your mouth.” He’s the biggest gfe fan (most of the time LOL).
Shirley
Jennifer says
yummo!
Shirley says
Thanks, dear Jennifer. 😉 Before our next meeting, I’m trying these using coconut oil and coconut milk. Keep your fingers crossed! 😉
Shirley
Pam says
OMG….scrumptious! I love popovers…they are so fun to eat and make….well done Shirley!
xoxo!
Shirley says
Hello, dear Pam–LOL … love your enthusiasm as always. 🙂 These are the world’s easiest popovers, because you fill the muffin cups by pouring from the blender pitcher—love that! BTW, Mr. GFE got excited when he saw the popover pics on my screen. He thought I’d made another batch. LOL Guess I better make some more for him. 😉
Hugsss,
Shirley
Jenn/CinnamonQuill says
I don’t think my earlier comment went through, soooo…..These look lovely; I adore the idea of a sweet popover as I’ve only had savory ones alongside dinner. I also like your story about forgetting to add the butter; wow, i do that kind of stuff ALL the time. 🙂
Shirley says
Hi Jenn–Great to see you! So sorry you lost a comment here … I just hate that (and, my comments going into the black hole of spam—aaargh!). Good to know I’m not alone in those little “oops” moments in the kitchen. The key is to keep rolling with it, right! Don’t be intimidated in the kitchen … some of the best creations are the results of accidents, right? 😉
Love your latest post on the chocolate chip cookies! I, and I’m sure others, really appreciate that you tested the recipe numerous times with different ingredients. Very, very helpful! Thanks, too, for the shout out there. So glad you were a previous giveaway winner! 🙂
Shirley
Iris says
Wow Shirley, Those look amazing!!!! I’ll be trying them…someday. 🙂
Shirley says
Hi Iris–Thanks for taking the time to comment! I know these are the last thing you want to look at while doing the elimination diet 😉 , so I really appreciate your enthusiastic comment!
Shirley
Jane says
Wow.. that looks delicious!!
Shirley says
Hi Jane–Welcome to gfe and thank you! Give them a try. 🙂
Shirley
Ellen Allard says
These are deserving of an award – they are beautiful! And I bet they taste as great as they look! I love your added note about the overlooked melted butter and the non-room temperature eggs!
best, Ellen
http://www.Iamglutenfree.blogspot.com
Shirley says
Hi Ellen–Great to see you! Are you a new grandmother yet? 🙂
Thank you so very much! These are every bit as good as they look … maybe more. 😉 As far as the butter and eggs, I figure folks need to know these things. Who wants to wait for eggs to get to room temperature when they need these popovers? LOL
Shirley
Fire-Eyes Roth says
I want to try these. They look wonderful. Just one question. Is there a difference between muffin pans and pop-over pans?
Thank you for sharing.
Live Laugh and Enjoy!
Fire-Eyes
Shirley says
Good evening, Fire-Eyes 🙂 –Popover pans have cups that are larger and deeper with the cups separated from the others. To get a visual, click on this link. The idea of the cups being separated is that the popovers get better heat distribution and browning. I picked this photo because it shows a popover in the pan. If you use a muffin pan (like I did), your popovers will still look great, and most importantly be delicious!
Best of luck … look forward to seeing and hearing how they turn out! 🙂
Shirley
Fire-Eyes Roth says
Thank You..
We have a friend of the family who is English and I would really like to surprise her with these one day…
I will let you know how they turn out 🙂
Live Laugh and Enjoy
Fire-Eyes
Shirley says
What a lovely surprise that would be for your friend! Look forward to the report. 🙂
Shirley
Lisa says
Oh, Man.
Does that ever look yummy.
Thanks for sharing it with us.
Happy Valentine’s Day.
Shirley says
Hi Lisa–Good to see you. 🙂 Very yummy indeed. 😉
Thanks for the V Day wishes! Same to you, dear,
Shirley
Linda says
Those look delicious, Shirley. I hope to give them a try this weekend.
Shirley says
Hi Linda–Thanks so much! I hope you get to make them … for my sake as much as yours, because Mr. GFE keeps asking me if any of my readers have made them yet. He wants feedback. LOL You’d think he created the recipe himself. 😉
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Shirley
Christi S says
I made these as a surprise Christmas breakfast for my family (minus the almonds because I didn’t have any).
These were absolutely wonderful! My kids and husband were thrilled (I think my daughter was the only one that knew I was making a breakfast thing). Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. YUM!
My family has made for years fried donuts with canned biscuits and cinnamon and sugar (pre-gluten-free) and my daughter said that these were much better than those.
We will definitely be making these again. Thank you!
Shirley says
Hi Christi–Good to see you … it’s been a while! 😉 Oh, I was so happy to read your comment. I’m tickled pink that your family loved them so. Your comment even inspired me to make some yesterday morning using my new popover pan. Now these taste even better, but more of a “hollow” is left in the middle. Son said I need to fill them with cream next time. Great idea, huh? So maybe these popovers will morph into a cream puff or eclair type treat. 🙂 Oh, and I had just used up all my almonds, too, so I made them without. We definitely like the almonds for the crunch factor, but one really cannot complain about these popovers in any form.
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Christi. Merry Christmas and Happy 2011!
Shirley
vivian says
Happy New Year! I started the New Year off right, with a plate of these and some honey butter!
Shirley Braden says
Hi Vivian–Thank you! Happy New Year to you as well! And oh yes, you did start 2020 the right way. 🙂 I would love one of these popovers with honey butter right now!
Thank you so very much for taking the time to leave this comment! Hugs,
Shirley