Brunch
923 recipes found
Raisin Cinnamon Roll Wreath
Perfume the house and decorate the table with this whimsical wreath made of buttery, sweet cinnamon rolls. Arranging the rolls into a ring makes it easy to tear away individual servings. The extra protein in bread flour yields a sturdier dough that’s easier to shape, but all-purpose flour works too. If you assemble these a day ahead and refrigerate them overnight before baking them the next morning, be sure to let the rolls rise three-quarters of the way before placing them in the fridge. A few hours before baking, allow them to come to room temperature on the counter. Have fun, and complete the wreath decoration with dehydrated orange wheels, cinnamon sticks, sugar-dusted cranberries or even a red ribbon bow.
Honey-Cured, Hickory-Smoked Shoulder Ham
A true ham, weighing 15 to 20 pounds, comes from a hog’s hindquarters. It’s a formidable piece of meat, requiring several weeks of curing and 24 hours or more of smoking. A shoulder ham (sometimes called picnic ham) has a similarly magisterial appearance and profound umami flavors, but in a size that will fit in your refrigerator and can be cured and smoked inside a week. When possible, buy a heritage pork breed, like Berkshire or Duroc, preferably from a local farmer or butcher.
Giant Cinnamon Roll Scone
Just when you thought the world couldn’t improve upon cinnamon rolls, this dreamy mashup comes along. Adapted from “Procrastibaking: 100 Recipes for Getting Nothing Done in the Most Delicious Way Possible” (Atria, 2020) by Erin Gardner, they are actually quite easy to put together: Toss together a basic scone dough, then roll it out, spread it with a sweet cinnamon-butter filling, cut it into strips, roll it up, score and bake. Once cooled, drizzle the roll with a simple vanilla sugar icing, gently break into wedges and serve to the delight of your loved ones.
Crispy Mushroom Focaccia
In this recipe, the secret to achieving crispy, not soggy, mushrooms is roasting them twice: first, alone on a sheet pan until they’re just tender and their moisture reduced, then again on top of a soft and fluffy focaccia dough, where they will brown and crisp. For a vegan version, skip the Parmesan and use flaky salt or nutritional yeast instead.
Scallion Cornmeal Waffles
For many alumni, homecoming week at the nation’s H.B.C.U.s — historically Black colleges and universities — culminates with day parties and brunches, where waffles are almost always on the menu. These crispy, savory cornmeal waffles are a weekend must-make and fancier than a pancake stack. They are also the perfect base for berry-jam fried chicken. Use full-fat buttermilk here, and feel free to swap in the oil of your choice. A citrus salad with peanuts and avocado, or crispy tofu, make a lovely accompaniment if you don’t eat meat.
Small-Batch Blueberry Muffins
Michelle Lopez, the author of “Weeknight Baking: Recipes to Fit Your Schedule” (Simon & Schuster, 2019), was inspired by the oversize muffins at Levain Bakery when she developed this recipe. The keys to the loftiest muffins? Plenty of batter and a high oven temperature, which ensures that they rise quickly and bake with a beautiful top and a tender interior. For the best results, rest your batter before baking. One very important tip: Spray the muffin pan and its edges generously with nonstick cooking spray. When the muffins come out of the oven, immediately use a small offset spatula to gently release their edges from the pan, then let them cool completely before removing them. You can use frozen blueberries instead of fresh, but be sure to thaw and drain them, then let them come to room temperature before adding them to the batter.
Strawberry and Ice Cream Sandwiches
This summertime snack is a spin on the Italian treat, brioche con gelato, which is typically served in hotter months for breakfast. This ice cream sandwich is made with actual bread — rather than cookies — landing this dessert in the not-too-sweet category. Griddling or grilling the buns with a butter-sugar finish adds a bit of caramelized sweetness. These are best eaten immediately, so have guests at the ready for assembling. The combination of still-warm bread, melting ice cream and strawberries is bliss.
Soft-Boiled Eggs With Anchovy Toast
This is a no-recipe recipe, a recipe without an ingredients list or steps. It invites you to improvise in the kitchen. If you’re up for a delicious, slightly sporty breakfast, you might consider making some anchovy butter tonight. Take a stick of unsalted butter, and let it soften on the counter while you assemble the other ingredients: a tin of anchovies, some garlic cloves, a shake or two of smoked or regular paprika, a wee splash of lemon juice and maybe, but probably not, some salt. Rinse and mince the little fish, mince the garlic, and fork everything together into the butter to taste. Then, come morning, you can slather toast with the result and serve it with soft scrambled eggs or, better yet, soft-boiled eggs, a breakfast I once had in London at a hotel and restaurant the chef Fergus Henderson was running in Leicester Square. Make sure you spread the butter “wall to wall.” That is a vernacular phrase of the chef Gabrielle Hamilton. It means to cover the entire surface of the bread from edge to edge — an important step in buttering, one that is too often shirked. Sam Sifton features a no-recipe recipe every Wednesday in his What to Cook newsletter. Sign up to receive it. You can find more no-recipe recipes here.
Caramel-Apple Dutch Baby
This recipe makes the perfect breakfast, brunch or sweet treat for a lazy weekend. Any 10-inch ovenproof pan or baking dish will work here, but for the puffiest and crispest pancake, use a cast-iron pan. Don’t skimp on the amount of butter you melt in the pan in the first step; it prevents the pancake from sticking, and helps brown and crisp the Dutch baby while it bakes. The easy, no-fail caramel sauce infuses the apples with brown sugar and vanilla, while also serving as a syrup to drizzle over each slice. For maximum ooh and aahs, spoon the apples, caramel and all, into the center of the Dutch baby and serve it in the skillet. To keep the pancake crisp longer, serve the apples and caramel separately and allow guests to top their own.
Cinnamon Roll Bread
This stunning bread is made from 16 small cinnamon rolls that are arranged in a loaf pan, creating a swirled pattern that’s surprisingly easy to achieve. The bread is delicious served slightly warm, but if you want to see precise spirals in your slice, let it cool completely before slicing. The icing is meant to be quite thick; if you apply it while the loaf is still warm, it will remain soft and gooey. If you apply it once the bread is fully cooled, it will harden to a thick, glossy frosting. Both are equally delicious, and which one you choose may depend entirely on how patient you can be once the aroma permeates your kitchen.
Croque-Monsieur Breakfast Casserole
This French classic needs little introduction, but if you haven’t had it in baked form, you’re in for a treat. Think upscale ham sandwiches drenched in egg custard and cheese, melted to a deep golden-brown. There are no tricks here, save for the addition of two extra yolks for maximum French-toast tenderness. Serve it warm, or at room temperature — a fitting breakfast feast that's welcome any time of the day.
Onion Sandwich
James Beard took this recipe from his colleagues Irma and Bill Rhode over 60 years ago, but there’s something delicate, fresh and unfussy about the sandwich even now. There isn’t much to it, so each component really matters: Slice the onions thinly and evenly, season well, and be gentle so you don’t squish the bread as you press each sandwich shut. Rolling the edge of the sandwich in chopped parsley (or a mix of parsley and other fresh herbs), gives it a retro styling touch, but it’s crucial for flavor, too.
Grilled Carrots With Yogurt, Carrot-Top Oil and Dukkah
You can serve these carrots with Greek yogurt, or with homemade labneh, if you start the night before (see Tip below). This recipe calls for making your own dukkah: You’ll have more than you need, but keep any leftovers in a sealed container to sprinkle over salads, grilled meat or fish. A bunch of carrots from your farmers’ market will work best here, but you can also use regular carrots that have been halved or quartered lengthwise. If you can’t find bunches of carrots with their fresh tops, you can prepare the oil using parsley instead, or double the tarragon for an even more herbaceous version.
Crustless Egg and Cheese Quiche
If you love quiche, get to know this crustless version, dotted with cheese, mushrooms and herbs (and no fussy pastry to chill or roll). Once you master the perfect dairy-to-egg ratio, you’ll find this recipe to be as much of an ally to the Friday fridge clean-out as it is to a brunch for friends. Pay close attention to the baking time: The center should be a touch wiggly when you remove the quiche from the oven. The end result is a quivering, spoonable custard that melts in your mouth, to be served with a bracing salad. Crisp greens with mustardy vinaigrette, or a citrus laced endive and radicchio number — anything in that vein will do.
White Bark Balls
Eggnog Overnight French Toast
Like a good pitcher of eggnog, this French toast is rich, sweet, boozy and covered in nutmeg. Slicing the bread but keeping the base connected not only makes this an attractive breakfast centerpiece, it also feeds family and friends with little effort since all the servings bake simultaneously. Allowing it to soak in the refrigerator overnight deepens the dish’s flavors. Don’t worry about forcing the bread pieces apart when pouring in the soaking mixture: The loaf will flower naturally as it bakes. This dish is sweet enough to eat without a final drench in maple syrup, but it’s great with a mountain of fresh, tart berries. A little homemade whipped cream wouldn’t hurt either.
Herby Rice Salad With Peas and Prosciutto
This bright, lemony salad laced with fresh herbs is a passport to spring. Simmering the rice in plenty of salted water just until it’s al dente and then cooling it well is key. Blanched fresh peas are terrific if you can find them, but frozen work just fine. The trick is marinating them in lemony olive oil, a technique borrowed from the Michigan chef Abra Berens, who uses it in her comprehensive book “Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables” (Chronicle Books, 2019). The prosciutto adds a nice salty hit, but you could sub in a dollop of creamy ricotta or leave both out for your vegan friends. Either way, the recipe delivers a bright salad that can stand in for a light meal.
Cheesy Breakfast Egg and Polenta Casserole
If you’ve had the pleasure of a cheesy polenta dinner, topped with a creamy-yolked egg, you can imagine how good that combination is at breakfast. This quick casserole for a crowd is exactly that, made elegant and easy so you can have a perfectly cooked portion for each person with very little work. Layer your polenta with anything you desire, whether salami or ham — or keep it vegetable-centric with spinach or oven-roasted tomatoes. Make nests between your toppings and the polenta where the eggs will cook slowly, giving you a soft-cooked finish that’s loaded with flavor.
Broccoli Toasts With Melty Provolone
A beautifully assembled toast can make a lovely light dinner. In this version, blanched broccoli is cooked in olive oil that's been infused with garlic and anchovies (always optional) until it’s very tender, then it’s piled onto toasted bread. Grated extra-sharp provolone, which is a nice complement to the mildly sweet broccoli, is sprinkled on top, then the toasts are broiled until the cheese is melted and golden brown. You can use cauliflower, broccoli rabe or thickly sliced sweet peppers in place of the broccoli, but be sure to cook your vegetables until they are velvety soft — it provides a nice contrast to the crunchy bread. While these toasts work well on their own, they make an equally good accompaniment to roast chicken or grilled fish.
Bircher Muesli
Essentially oats soaked in fruit juice, or milk, with nuts and fruit, Bircher muesli has a long history, and enough versions floating around to prove it. The original was created in the early 1900s by Maximilian Bircher-Benner, a Swiss doctor. It consisted of oats, grated apple, nuts, lemon and condensed milk and honey, but over time, people have gotten creative with the formula. This version is a choose-your-own-adventure recipe that is great to make ahead in large or small batches. Some recipes call for apple juice or applesauce for moisture, but this version uses creamy Greek yogurt instead. Tahini adds richness, but substitute another nut butter or skip it all together if you’d rather. Swap out the nuts and dried fruit to suit your tastes and what you have. (Dates are especially nice.) Thin individual servings with more milk, if needed, then top with additional fresh fruit, nuts and a drizzle of maple syrup. It’s cool, creamy, chewy and crunchy all at once.
Seared Grapefruit With Ginger Maple Syrup
I call these seared ruby red grapefruit rounds “pancakes,” not because there is any batter involved, but because I serve them warm, with maple syrup that I spike with fresh ginger juice.
Menudo
Menudo is magic in a bowl — sporting tripe, a deeply spiced broth, and the choice of many different seasonings, the Mexican soup is a gift. Also known as pancita, the dish is amenable to many variations and this version from Mely Martínez’s book, “The Mexican Home Kitchen” (Rock Point, 2020), is especially soothing. Most menudo recipes follow a similar blueprint: protein (usually tripe) is simmered in broth until it reaches a silky completion. Your choice of meat sits nestled in a base which can be as spicy or soothing as your tolerance and preference allows. On the side, lime, oregano and onions are among the accoutrements to season your dish — and hominy can be a hearty addition to the bowl, complementing the textures that have been stacked atop one another.
Kimchi Cheddar Biscuits
Regardless of where, or even when, you’re eating a biscuit, the formula’s the same: a little flour, a little water, frozen butter. A pair of deft, knowing hands and an oven to bring them home. A biscuit can be a side dish of little note, or it can characterize an entire place and time, etching its own corner in your memory. The acidity and crunch of ripe kimchi meld deeply with Cheddar here, and also in versions from Kay Chun and Joy Cho, resulting in a biscuit that traverses multiple flavors from bite to bite. For the best results, chill your butter in the freezer and your buttermilk in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
Creamed Tomatoes on Toast
Juicy canned tomatoes melted into fragrant cream mimic an instant cream of tomato soup. Served over toast, they make for a simple yet indulgent breakfast, or anytime snack. This dish is inspired by a recipe in "Roast Chicken and Other Stories." In the book, Simon Hopkinson writes that his version was inspired by Edouard de Pomiane’s "Cooking in 10 Minutes." Hopkinson bakes fresh tomatoes in garlicky, minty cream for half an hour. The version below, with canned tomatoes, woody herbs and a hint of cinnamon, is there for you when fresh tomatoes aren’t — and, like de Pomiane's approach, takes closer to 10 minutes.