Spring is here! And that means time for brunch, spring vegetables and Easter delicacies. You won’t find any cute bunnies or other Easter treats for kids in this Easter Brunch menu; it’s a strictly grown-up affair. You can easily switch out the egg dish, vegetable side dish, coffee or pastry/dessert to come up with your own custom easy Easter brunch menu.
1. Main Dish – Egg, Ham & Cheese Brunch Nests (shown above)
These egg nests have a spicy secret: chipotle chiles. You can adjust the amount of chipotle to get just the level of spice you like. And topped with cilantro-avocado crema adds just the right amount of cool to the dish. Thanks to Ericka of Nibbles and Feasts for this recipe; check out her blog for more.
2. Side Dish – Roasted Carrots with Shallots & Thyme
With many vegetables, cooking destroys some of their vitamins, but this isn’t the case with carrots. You can absorb more beta carotene from cooked carrots than from raw ones. If you like garlic, add a few peeled whole cloves to the mix. Or try these Roasted Asparagus with Pesto & Lemon.
Ingredients
Directions
3. Bacon Dessert – Maple Browned Butter Bacon Cupcakes
Whether you’re baking for an upscale party, an Easter brunch or a winter respite, cupcakes are a universal favorite. These sweet and savory cupcakes will specifically please bacon lovers with a sweet tooth – and isn’t that everyone??
Ingredients
- 3 strips center-cut bacon
- 3/4 cup plus 1/2 teaspoon packed light brown sugar, divided
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter, lightly browned*
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup low-fat buttermilk
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Cream cheese frosting or 1 container (16 ounces) white prepared frosting
Directions
- Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Arrange strips of bacon on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet (line baking sheet with foil for easy clean up).
- Bake, rotating pan halfway through cooking, for about 15 minutes or until bacon is almost crisp. Remove 2 strips of bacon and place on paper towel to cool. Sprinkle remaining piece of bacon evenly with 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar. Bake for 3 minutes or until sugar melts. Set aside to use as garnish.
- Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Line 12-cup muffin tin with paper or foil liners.
- Combine flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl; mix well.
- Whisk together browned butter, remaining 3/4 cup sugar, eggs, buttermilk, 1/4 cup maple syrup and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl. Gradually stir in flour mixture. Crumble the 2 strips of bacon and fold into batter. Spoon into prepared cups, filling 2/3 full.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
- Stir remaining 2 tablespoons maple syrup into prepared frosting. Pipe onto cupcakes. Crumble remaining sugar-coated strip of bacon; sprinkle over cupcakes.
- 3 strips center-cut bacon
- ¾ cup plus ½ teaspoon packed light brown sugar, divided
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter, lightly browned*
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup low-fat buttermilk
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Cream cheese frosting or 1 container (16 ounces) cwhite prepared frosting
- Instructions
- Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Arrange strips of bacon on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet (line baking sheet with foil for easy clean up).
- Bake, rotating pan halfway through cooking, for about 15 minutes or until bacon is almost crisp. Remove 2 strips of bacon and place on paper towel to cool. Sprinkle remaining piece of bacon evenly with ½ teaspoon brown sugar. Bake for 3 minutes or until sugar melts. Set aside to use as garnish.
- Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Line 12-cup muffin tin with paper or foil liners.
- Combine flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl; mix well.
- Whisk together browned butter, remaining ¾ cup sugar, eggs, buttermilk, ¼ cup maple syrup and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl. Gradually stir in flour mixture. Crumble the 2 strips of bacon and fold into batter. Spoon into prepared cups, filling ⅔ full.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
- Stir remaining 2 tablespoons maple syrup into prepared frosting. Pipe onto cupcakes. Crumble remaining sugar-coated strip of bacon; sprinkle over cupcakes.
4. Caramel Macchiato Cappuccino
Ingredients
- 1 shot (1 ounce) espresso
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon Caramel coffee creamer or Caramel sauce
- Ground cinnamon
Directions
Mix together and voila!
5. Breakfast Bread – Pull-Apart Cinnamon Chocolate Coffeecake (above)
This coffeecake has the best of all breakfast breads: cinnamon, glaze on top and chocolate. Pull-apart bread is so easy to serve, and it goes really well with coffee before the meal, or as a dessert. And all week long!