Christmas mornings are always hectic, especially with little kids. One of my favorite traditions during the holidays is creating a delicious holiday brunch for my family to enjoy after the excitement of gifts and stockings on Christmas morning.
The best dishes for mornings like these, are one’s that you can be prepped ahead and don’t require a lot of constant attention to prepare.
Today, I’m sharing my complete Christmas brunch menu and recipes.
Quiches are one of my all time favorite things to make! They’re so versatile, your fillings can be prepped a day or two early, then on Christmas morning, just mix everything together and pop them in the oven. This year I’m making one with sauteed leeks, mushroom and gruyere cheese and the other with sauteed onion, bell pepper and cheddar cheese.
These roasted potatoes are so good, you could serve them any time of day. Wash and dry all the potatoes the night before. Then just cut and season them the morning of before popping in the oven.
I always make mini pancakes of some kind, this year we’re doing gingerbread and red velvet. I use THIS mix for the gingerbread and THIS mix for the red velvet.
Bacon and chicken sausage are must haves. I cook the bacon in the oven for a simple clean up.
For me, no brunch is complete without fruit. I just make sure there’s an array of different fruit for everyone to choose from.
As far as sweets go, I love having a donut hole tree. I buy glazed munchkins and garnish them with fresh cranberries and some sprigs of rosemary.
Another staple on our table every year is this amazing orange cranberry cake with glaze. It is so good! I make it the day before and slice it right before serving.
For drinks, I have coffee, tea and a homemade punch available. I set everything up to the side for easy self -serving.
Serving brunch like this, allows everyone the opportunity to eat at their own pace, it makes set up and cleanup easier since you aren’t setting a whole breakfast table and most importantly, it allows me more time to enjoy with my family.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray baking dish with cooking spray.
Saute fillings. Set aside to cool completely.
Combine the eggs, Greek yogurt, flour, salt and pepper, in a medium bowl. Blend until the mixture is smooth, about 1 minute.
Pour the filling ingredients into the egg mixture and ½ of the cheese and mix in with a spoon until well combined.
Pour the mixture into the baking dish and smooth out the top. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
Bake until set, about 40-45 minutes. Remove the baking dish from the oven. It will be puffed up, but will fall slightly as it cools. Serve warm or cold.
Notes
If filling is not cooled completely before mixing with eggs, it will cook the eggs.
Wrap a styrofoam cone with aluminum foil. Place covered cone pointed end up on a serving plate or cake stand. Coat with a thin layer of frosting to hide the foil.
Starting from the bottom of the foam cone, insert a toothpick ½ inch from the bottom, leaving 1 inch of the toothpick sticking out. Gently press one donut hole into end of toothpick. Continue inserting toothpicks horizontally and placing donut holes ¾ inch apart to create a ring around the base of the cone. Repeat process with remaining donut holes, working your way up the cone until cone is completely covered.
Tuck cranberries and rosemary sprigs evenly into the tree for a decorated effect.
Using a small wire mesh strainer, sprinkled powdered sugar on top of and around entire tree.
This Cranberry Orange Bread is incredibly moist, dense, and full of orange and cranberry in every bite. It’s finished off with a sweet orange glaze drizzled on top. We think it’s the best cranberry orange bread around!
Ingredients
Scale
Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 ½ tablespoon orange zest
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup orange juice
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups fresh cranberries
Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2–3 tablespoons orange juice
Instructions
Cake
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 9 x 5 – inch loaf pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
In a separate small bowl, use a spoon to mix the sugar and orange zest until the sugar becomes light orange in color. Set aside.
Take a third large bowl and whisk the buttermilk, oil, orange juice, eggs, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and the orange zest/sugar mixture, and whisk until just combined. Don’t overmix!
Next, add the cranberries and use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir until well incorporated.
Transfer the batter to the greased loaf pan. Place in the oven and baked for 65-75 minutes. If the bread begins to brown too quickly, place a piece of aluminum foil loosely over the top to prevent burning.
The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a very light crumb. Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before transferring from the pan to a cooling rack.
Glaze
While the bread cools, make the glaze.
In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar and orange juice.
Whisk or use a hand mixer on low until the glaze is smooth and creamy. Adjust the amount of orange juice to reach desired consistency.
After the bread cools completely, drizzle the glaze over the top, slice, and serve.
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