the ultimate holiday brunch . . . baked french toast, brown sugar bacon, sweet potato hash and more

 

Hello, friends!

I was happily overwhelmed with the emails I received after sharing my post "Celebrating Thanksgiving with a Fall-inspired brunch."  So many of you asked me to please share the recipes of the dishes that I served for our brunch. 

Here was our menu . . .

our Fall-inspired brunch

.     .     .     .     .     .

chili brown sugar thick-cut bacon 
.   .   .
fennel & rosemary sausage
.   .   .
skillet sweet potato hash 
with caramelized onions & sprigs of thyme
.   .   .
farm fresh scrambled eggs 
with white cheddar cheese & fresh herbs 
.   .   . 

baked pumpkin french toast

with cinnamon crumb streusel & maple cream cheese glaze

.   .   . 

buttermilk waffles 

drizzled with browned butter maple syrup & topped with eggnog whipped cream 

& a pinch of nutmeg

.   .   . 

dark chocolate hot cocoa

with eggnog whipped cream

.     .     .     .     .     .

 

 

  

Our brunch was different and wonderful! 

You see, although I had hosted Thanksgiving for the last 5 years, I wanted to do something different this year, as I was missing my family back home . . .  and preparing a big, traditional Thanksgiving meal just wouldn't have been the same, without ALL the same family and friends to share it with; and so inspired our brunch.

If you follow me, then you know that I LOVE brunch. It's my favorite meal of the day, and my favorite time of day to entertain.

I wanted to prepare the ultimate Thanksgiving/Fall-inspired brunch, and also have fun doing it. So I spent a few days combing through my recipe binders, and pulled inspiration from a few of my favorite cookbooks, too. 

I love that I was able to prepare many of the brunch items the day before, allowing me more time on Thanksgiving morning to go at a slower pace and enjoy my family along the way.  

For instance, I prepared the pumpkin/egg/milk/and spice mixture for the baked pumpkin french toast the night before, as well as the streusel topping, which made for quick and easy assembly in the morning. I also made the maple cream cheese glaze the day before, and then warmed it in the microwave for 45 seconds before serving it. 

Because most of the "preparation work" was done the day before, Thanksgiving morning was more about assembling, cooking/baking, and then serving. 

Although I am way late sharing this post, there are still so many of you hosting brunches through the holiday season; and I'm hoping that you'll find something from our menu that will make a delicious addition to your holiday menu. 

baked pumpkin french toast

with cinnamon streusel & maple cream cheese glaze

.     .     .     .     .     .     .

cinnamon crumble streusel

1 stick unsalted butter, melted 

1/3 cup light brown sugar 

1/4 cup pure cane granulated sugar 

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt 

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
.     .     .     .     .     .     .
pumpkin french toast 
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for buttering the pan 
1 15-ounce cans pumpkin puree 
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk 
1 cup milk 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
pinch of salt 
4 large eggs 
1 loaf brioche or challah bread, 1-inch thick slices 

.     .     .     .     .     .     .

maple cream cheese glaze
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 - 8 ounce tub of whipped cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup pure maple syrup
.     .     .     .     .     .     .

Preparation

For the crumble topping
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over high heat until it begins to turn light golden brown. 
Whisk in both of the sugars and cook until smooth. 
Take the pot off the heat and add the flour, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg - and mix until clumps begin to form. Refrigerate the crumb mixture for 15 minutes.

For the pumpkin batter
Lightly butter a 12-by-8-inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, condensed milk, regular milk, cinnamon, pumpkins spice, vanilla, eggs and 1 tablespoon of the melted butter and whisk until combined. 
Grab a slice of bread and submerge it in the pumpkin custard. Soak with enough custard to cover both sides of the bread, then layer it in the prepared baking pan (see photo). 
Repeat the process until the bottom the pan is full. 

Sprinkle the top of the slices with cinnamon crumble streusel. 

Bake until the top is golden, 40 to 45 minutes. 
Serve with a drizzle of maple cream cheese glaze.

For the glaze 
Either by hand or in a stand mixer, whisk together the cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Slowly pour the maple syrup into the cream cheese and butter mixture until combined and smooth. 
Drizzle the glaze over the baked french toast. 

Friends! Have you ever had brown sugar bacon? 
It's such a treat! And insanely delicious! 

Adding a touch of chili powder and cumin takes this already amazing bacon - over the top!
I loved that every bite was a little sweet, warm, and spicy . . . and wrapped up in one. 

chili & brown sugar bacon

.     .     .     .     .     .     .

1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

2 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

8 slices thick-cut bacon

.     .     .     .     .     .     .

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. 

Set a cooling rack inside the prepared pan and set aside. 

In a shallow dish, combine the brown sugar, chili powder, and cumin. 

Dredge the bacon slices in the brown sugar and arrange the bacon on the rack. 

Bake in a preheated oven until crisp, about 20 minutes. 

Transfer to a serving plate and serve. 
.     .     .     .     .     .     .

Happy holiday brunching!

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double chocolate dutch baby

We had a wonderfully fun and FULL Thanksgiving weekend!

I loved having my Littles home for 5 days! We slept in every day, feasted on Thanksgiving brunch left-overs (Pumpkin French Toast! Brown sugar bacon! YUM!!), started decorating for Christmas, and celebrated our oldest son's engagement to his long-time girlfriend.  Although I miss my family and friends back home terribly, we had so much to celebrate and be thankful for, even from afar.

~ Thanksgiving Brunch 2016 ~

We visited our first Tree Farm over the weekend . . . and it was so beautiful!

Snickersgap Tree Farm is nestled on a hillside in the breathtaking area of Bluemont. We bundled up . . . sweatshirts, jackets, gloves, scarves and knit caps . . . and ventured up and down the hillside looking for the perfect tree. I loved watching our Littles run free!

And that view!! Northern Virginia's landscape is breath-taking! It's one of the prettiest states I've visited in our Union.

~ Pumpkin French Toast ~

with cinnamon crumble top and maple cream cheese glaze

RECIPE COMING SOON!

~ Chili Brown Sugar Bacon ~

RECIPE COMING SOON!

~ Sweet Potato Hash  ~

with slow-cooked caramelized onions

RECIPE COMING SOON!

Ok, so our relaxing weekend had me thinking about dutch baby's. 

Have you heard of them, or better yet, have you had one? It's a cross between a tender sweet pancake and a popover. Its base is humble, which makes them the perfect receptacle for syrups, fruits, jams, and powder sugar. 

I shared a recipe for an old-fashioned dutch baby several years ago; and since then - have shared a cinnamon apple and an asparagus & fontina version. They're so simple to prepare and delicious! 

For a hard-core lover of chocolate (that's me!!), I don't know why it took me so long to make a chocolate dutch baby? Well, I couldn't let another weekend pass without figuring out how to make one. 

And Friends, it was so good! So good!

It's puffs are even prettier wearing chocolate!

If you haven't made one before, then let me share again how easy they are to prepare . . . It's as simple as putting all the ingredients in a blender and blending the mixture until it's frothy.  The sizzling hot skillet and butter wait patiently in the oven for the frothy mixture . . . and that's where the magic happens . . . 15 minutes later you have pillows of yumminess!

I recently discovered the magic of flavored maple syrups, too . . .  browned butter maple syrup and chocolate maple syrup. Both are amazing!

I'm going to share the simple recipe for chocolate maple syrup below, because it's uhhhh-mazing on top of a chocolate dutch baby! It's as simple as adding a little cocoa powder and melted butter to maple syrup. Good-NESS!!! 

Add that on top of your chocolate dutch baby, along with fresh whipped cream . . . . and you have a very special breakfast, brunch, or dessert! 

Ok friends, I hope I shared enough photos in this post to send you running into your kitchen to make one!

double chocolate dutch baby

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

3 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup flour

3 eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup, 2 Tablespoons whole milk, room temperature

2 Tablespoons cocoa powder

generous pinch of salt

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

chocolate maple syrup

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 Tablespoons cocoa powder

1 Tablespoons unsalted butter

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

fresh whipped cream

1 cup chilled heave cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup confectioners sugar

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

Preparation
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Place butter into a cold 10-inch cast iron pan or an 8x8 baking dish and place the pan with butter into the oven while the oven is preheating.

In a blender, using a hand mixer, or using a whisk by hand, whip the flour, eggs, milk, cocoa powder, salt, and sugar. Blend or beat the mixture until it is nice and frothy!

Pour the batter in the center of the hot pan. The batter should sizzle in the butter. Close the oven and watch it rise.

Bake for 15 minutes.

While the pancake is baking, mix all the ingredients for the chocolate syrup in a small sauce pan over medium low heat. Set aside.

In a chilled bowl, using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or in a chilled bowl using a hand mixer , whip chilled heavy cream and vanilla. With the mixer running, sprinkle in confectioners sugar. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until soft peaks form.

Let the dutch baby cool slightly before topping it with the chocolate syrup and whipped cream. Sprinkle with toppings of your choice.

                                                         .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

old-fashioned dutch baby

cinnamon apple dutch baby

asparagus & fontina dutch baby

LET'S STAY in touch!

Simply Suzannes at Home

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Thank you so much for stopping by!

I love reading your comments and appreciate them so much!

mini puffed oven pancakes

Brunch is my favorite meal to host!

It's typically served late morning, which is great, because it gives me enough time to get our family up and moving . . . and extra time to leisurely cook and bake our brunch menu.

What I love about serving mini puffed oven pancakes for an informal and light brunch (besides that they're light, fluffy, and fun to eat) is that while they're baking in the oven, you have time to make other items that might be on your menu . . . like browning bacon and sausage and making creamy scrambled eggs with herbs.

They're also fun to serve as an appetizer  . . . a little something for your friends and family to snack on while waiting for other brunch entrees to be served.

You don't have to wait for a special occasion to make these mini pancakes though. They're also a welcome treat on a Saturday or Sunday morning when you have more time to enjoy something more than a bowl of cereal or a piece of toast.

I like to serve them family style. . . on a large platter or board, sprinkled with powdered sugar. Be sure and have a few appetizer plates handy, as well as warm maple syrup.

The ingredients and batter is very similar to that of popovers. They even look like popovers when you pull them out of the oven; but as they cool, you'll notice that they will slowly deflate . . . and crinkle. 

And although the crinkles might not look pretty, they make a perfect surface for toppings to collect . . . making every bite that much more yummy!

Ingredients

(make about 24 puff pancakes)

½  cup flour

 ¾  cup milk

2 eggs

1/8  teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Toppings

warm, melted butter

fresh berries

warm maple syrup

powdered sugar

 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and place mini muffin pan in the oven.

While oven is heating, place flour, milk, vanilla, eggs, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth. 

Carefully remove the pan from the oven, and quickly and generously spray the wells with non-stick spray, or brush with melted butter.  Fill muffin wells 3/4 full with batter.  Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until puffed and slightly golden on top. 

Remove puffs and place on plate or platter.  

Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Serve with fresh berries, maple syrup, and fresh whipped cream.

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Simply Suzannes at Home

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