Recipes: Christmas Day Brunch

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Mostly because of Christmas, but also because it's a great time to sit down with the family and have a hearty brunch. I love going out for brunch, but staying in can be just as delicious, if not more so.  More than that, during this hard and cold time, it saves lots of money and time to serve your family in the comfort of your own home. 

The holiday season is meant for sweet treats, so why not bring that deliciousness to the morning. Monkey Bread is a classic, despite it's confusing name. This bread is not made of monkeys or bananas. I usually axe the pecans, because I feel like it's unnecessary, but I know a lot of you love nuts...so pile them on if you'd like. 

Monkey Bread

courtesy of Pillsbury.com

ingredients

• 1/2 cup sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  
• 2 cans (16.3 oz each) Pillsbury® Grands!® Homestyle refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
  
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, if desired
  
• 1/2 cup raisins, if desired
  
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  
• 3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
  

directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 12-cup fluted tube pan.
   
2. In large plastic food-storage bag, mix sugar and cinnamon. Separate dough into 16 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Shake in bag to coat. Arrange in pan, adding walnuts and raisins among the biscuit pieces.
   
3. Mix brown sugar and butter; pour over biscuit pieces.
   
4. Bake 28 to 32 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Turn upside down onto serving plate; pull apart to serve. Serve warm.
   

This next recipe is really great for those of you who find Christmas morning hectic and no time to start a good breakfast. You can make this the night before, in fact, you have to. It's a real crowd pleaser and serves 12. (Goes great with the bacon below.)

Stuffed French Toast

courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine

ingredients

• 24 (1-ounce) slices cinnamon-raisin bread 
  
• Cooking spray 
  
• 3 cups 1-percent milk 
  
• 2 cups egg substitute 
  
• 1 cup half-and-half 
  
• 1 cup sugar 
  
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 
  
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
  
• 1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened 
  
• 1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened 
  
• Bottled cinnamon-sugar, optional
  

ingredients

1. Trim crusts from bread. Arrange half of the bread in a by 9 by 13-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
   
2. Combine milk, 1 1/2 cups egg substitute, half-and-half, and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Pour half of milk mixture over bread in dish.
3. Combine 1/2 cup egg substitute, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and cheeses in a food processor or blender; process until smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture over moist bread in dish. Top with remaining bread; pour remaining milk mixture over bread. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
5. Let the dish come to room temperature about 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 55 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar, if desired.

Bacon makes everything better.

Brown Sugar Bacon

Recipe courtesy Dan Smith and Steve McDonough via Food Network

ingredients

• 1 pound thick cut bacon
  
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
  

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Line a baking pan with parchment paper and lay the bacon out side by side, overlapping just a bit, if necessary, to fit the whole package on the pan. 
3. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and place the pan on the top rack of the oven.
4.  Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until the bacon is nicely browned and slightly crispy.

* Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

*Ovens tend to cook unevenly so some of the bacon strips will be darker than others. Don't worry; this will satisfy those who like well done bacon.

I hope these dishes get you excited about the Christmas morning and not just for presents. Help others have a great Christmas too!

Disclaimer: The above photos are from the respective cited links in the dish's title. I have made them all before, but sadly...my photos never do the food justice!