Thyme For Spaetzle

Spaetzle with Thyme gives a subtle flavor boost to traditional German spaetzle. You're going to love the flavor of this herbed-up classic.

*Disclaimer - This recipe was originally published in 2013. I'm working hard to update all my older recipes with recipe cards, new photos, and additional recipe information. But, getting to all of them will take time. Please bear with me. In the meantime let me assure you that this recipe is still a winner and one I'm sure you'll be well pleased with when you make it at home.

When I think of German food, I'm always reminded of my grandpa Hugo. To my remembrance, my grandpa was someone who experimented in the kitchen and never followed an exact recipe. An old-world cook who did things mostly by taste and feel, much like me. This recipe for spaetzle with thyme is an ode to my grandpa and my German heritage.

The renewed excitement I have for making spaetzle comes from my new spaetzle maker (i.e. kitchen toy) that I learned about from my friend Hani of Haniela's, and her YouTube channel "What To Cook Next".

Immediately after watching Hani's video, I hopped on over to Amazon.com and ordered my spaetzle maker, along with another cookbook to add to my vastly growing collection (don't judge me, LOL).

I barely could control my excitement when Mr. FedEx delivered this box to my door. Squeel! I'm pretty easy to please 🙂 To my knowledge, my grandpa never used a spaetzle maker. I think he was more of a colander kind of guy, but to me, this looked like a lot more fun!

With my trusty spaetzle maker in hand, and a big pot of boiling water on the stove, I was ready to cook up (and bring back) some memories.

If you've ever used a mandolin slicer, you'll understand the concept of a spaetzle maker. By adding the dough into the basket on top of the slicer. Then, sliding the funnel back and forth over the boiling water, the dough is cut into tiny dumpling sizes and the spaetzle cooks in a matter of seconds. Fast and fun!

THYME FOR SPAETZLE      {PRINT THIS RECIPE}
Serves: 6          Prep time:  5 minutes        Cook time:  10 minutes

3 eggs
1 cup milk plus 2 tablespoons
3 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves 2 tablespoons butter

-Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over medium-high heat.

-In a medium-size bowl whisk the eggs until foamy. Add in the 1 cup of milk and flour and switch to a wooden spoon.

-Stir in the salt, garlic powder, nutmeg, and thyme leaves. If the dough seems too stiff, stir in the additional 2 tablespoons of milk. The consistency should be of a slightly stiff pancake batter.

-Place the spaetzle maker over the pot of boiling water. Add 1 cup of the spaetzle batter into the basket.

-Slide the basket slowly, side to side.  As you do, tiny bits of dough will fall into the water. Continue sliding until all the batter is gone and then stir the water in order to break up any dumplings that have clumped together. As soon as they all float, the dumplings are ready to be removed with a large slotted spoon or a strainer.

-Place the cooked dumplings in a bowl and continue the process with the remaining batter.

-Add the butter to the bowl of cooked spaetzle and stir.

-Serve warm, and enjoy!

Now, I'm pretty sure that my recipe "Thyme For Spaetzle" is not an authentic German recipe (except in heart and spirit). It's one that I had a lot of fun with, in my own kitchen.

That said, I think next time I make spaetzle I might even use beer in place of milk in the recipe just for an extra little twist of flavor. Is it so wrong?! Don't answer that! 🙂