Breakfast pastries are essentially an excuse to eat cake for breakfast, right? Sweets Editor Carrie Vasios stops by each week with a recipe to help you make the most of the morning sweets.
Texturally, these cups can't be beat. Your fork crunches through the cup, shattering into buttery shards. A bite of flaky phyllo combines with cool, thick yogurt and juicy fruit. The sweet strawberries play against the tangy yogurt, and the drizzle of honey brings to mind baklava though the cup remains light, fresh, and creamy. More
Look. I'm all for eating cake at breakfast, but sometimes I wonder if people don't know (or maybe don't want to know) that there is a difference between a cupcake and a muffin. I bought a muffin the other day and I swear, it was so full of oil I should have organized a group to play an indoor game of greasy watermelon scramble. More
I feel for the guys who always have to play the supporting role. The sidekicks, the straight men, the Ethels, Dr. Watsons and Ed McMahons of the world. I think it's pretty obvious—Donald Duck saw his own comedic shortcomings and lured the chipmunks into his house with those pancakes, and Geoffrey was really the key to the whole Fresh Prince operation. More
These cinnamon sugar crescents take a simple sweet yeasted dough and, with minimal effort, become something much more exciting. You roll the dough into a circle, paint it with butter, and sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar. The circle is cut into wedges that are rolled, rugelach-style, into crescents. More
I like to think of these as a popover-crepe hybrid. You pour a simple, eggy batter into a wide skillet, pop it in the oven, and 20 minutes later you have a puffed, bowl-shaped pancake that's just waiting to be topped with sugar. Some people eat dutch babies with lemon, and sure, I won't stop you. But I like mine New England style—topped with fresh blueberries and a little maple syrup. More
Rhubarb is like tonic water. I never pause to think about what tonic water tastes like and I never sip it straight. In fact when I finally gave it a go at home, I realized I had been conflating the taste of tonic water with bad quality gin and 3 a.m. mozzarella sticks from the Happy Days Diner. I'd like to formally say, I'm sorry, tonic water. You are your own quininial beast, and I was letting my poor culinary habits drag you down. More
These are best described as a streusel-crumble-muffin hybrid. My favorite part? They hide a layer of fruit preserves. More
I have both what some may call a "deaf ear" and a god-awful singing voice. When I was little this proved to be unfortunate because, until I was traumatized beyond ever humming a tune again, I really liked to sing. More
Combined with a base of oats there is dried mango, candied pineapple and papaya, fatty macadamia nuts, pepitas, coconut flakes, banana chips, and Brazil nuts. The dressing for the granola is a mixture of agave syrup, olive oil, and coconut sugar. The result is a crunchy, sweet breakfast (or ice cream topping) that is rich and flavorful. It's meant to transport you to the tropics, not the yoga studio. More
There were a million food moments over the course of that trip that more than justified my cockeyed plan. Mountainous, tender biscuits at Tupelo Honey in Asheville, North Carolina. Fried chicken at JCT Kitchen in Atlanta. Everything at Franklin BBQ in Austin. One of the simpler moments was a quick breakfast in Mobile, Alabama. A fat slice of key lime bread and a cup of hot coffee before we turned west and pushed on into the bayou. More
I believe my friends would have done well in Roman times, when lounging and theorizing were the popular activities of the day. They will happily argue over any topic, from when it's appropriate to use the word "delightful," to the length to which a girl's shirt should fall over her rear if she is sporting leggings as pants. One of my favorite long-standing arguments is that of popovers versus Yorkshire pudding. Because I don't have a definitive answer, I'll say this: I love popovers, and if popovers are Yorkshire pudding, then I love Yorkshire pudding too. More
Most people who visit Siena, Italy, load their suitcases with bottles of the local Chianti or liters of cheap Tuscan olive oil. They come home wearing souvenir t-shirts adorned with pictures of the Palio, a medieval-style horse race that runs through the town's main square. Not me. All three times I left those city walls, my bags were packed to the brim with Panforte, a dense, spiced fruit and nut cake. A slice of Panforte makes a great energizing, healthy breakfast. More
