Bill's mother, Marie, grew up in Germany. When she was 19 years old, she traveled to the United States alone to spend the summer visiting a favorite cousin who had moved to Iowa a few years earlier. The two cousins renewed their bond of friendship, and Marie promptly landed a job and decided to stay. At citizenship classes, she met and married an adventurous young man who, like herself, had also ventured to the U.S. from Germany at age 19 and decided to stay. Marie is 96 and still prepares her much-loved pancakes for family.

The German egg dumplings are another treasured Denkinger family favorite that traveled from Germany to the U.S. with Marie.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup whole milk

8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup flour

4 large eggs

Combine 1/2 cup butter, milk, 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, and salt in a medium-large saucepan. Bring to a full boil over medium heat. Add flour all at once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan. Continue to cook and stir mixture another minute to eliminate excess moisture. Remove from heat source and let it set for a minute or two to cool slightly, stirring occasionally. Then, beat in eggs, one at a time, by hand with a wooden spoon. Be sure batter is smooth before adding next egg. Set aside.

In a separate large kettle, bring water to a boil. Add a little salt to water. Drop batter by scooping off a teaspoon into the boiling water. Let dumplings cook for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on size. Lift with a slotted spoon; drain.

Serve in bowl or in individual ramekins. Drizzle with warmed, pure maple syrup and sprinkle with maple sugar (optional). Mix maple sugar with minced walnuts or pecans if desired.

Note: Do not double this recipe. It is best to set one batch aside in bowl while you prepare a second and third batch, but it's okay to boil batches all at once.

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