I have always been a sucker for weekend breakfasts, and that goes double now that brunch in public is a high-risk activity. I wake up on Saturday mornings excited to ransack my pantry and fridge to see what I can slap together and enjoy in my pajamas in front of the TV. Whether I’m making eggs on toast with a big side salad, or something extra-carby like waffles or biscuits, this ritual is an act of self-care that sets the tone for my weekend. In COVID times, this is about as luxurious as things get around here.
Below are a dozen fourteen of my favorite weekend breakfast items from the archives. Please believe me when I tell you that this *is* the narrowed down version of the list. I just really like breakfast, y’all.
My mom made Puff Pancakes for my sister and me when we were growing up, and they are still my favorite weekend breakfast of all time. You wouldn’t know it by their golden bowl shape or custardy centers, but these oven pancakes are absurdly easy to make and require just five ingredients. The best part? You can easily customize them for one serving or up to four.
Oh man, I am so proud of these fluffy, buttery pancakes. I made many, many test batches as the beginning of quarantine to get them juuuust right. I am here to tell you that I succeeded.
Are you a single human like me? Or maybe someone who hates sharing? Well then, this recipe for exactly three pancakes is for you! I have a regular all-purpose flour version too, so take your pick.
These are the best waffles I’ve ever had, period. They’re fluffy, crispy and oh-so easy (no whipped egg whites!). Make a double batch and keep some in your freezer. You won’t regret it.
Oatmeal Waffles {Vegan & Gluten-Free}
All that said, I posted these Oatmeal Waffles a few weeks ago and am crazy about them! From the blender batter to their crispy exteriors to the fact that they’re vegan and gluten-free, these are a win all around.
Overnight Yeast-Raised Doughnuts
I won’t lie to you, yeast-raised doughnuts are a “project” breakfast, but they’re well worth the effort and forethought. Also, do you see that glossy chocolate dip? Because that should be all the convincing you need.
Kolaches are a variety of Czech pastry that is very popular in my home state of Texas. I’ve got many varieties in my archives, but this jammy pineapple version is calling my name right now.
Cream Biscuit Pecan Sticky Buns
These are sticky buns made simpler. Where sweet rolls are traditionally made with yeast doughs, these buns rely on my trusty Cream Biscuit dough. Oh, and a lake of sticky pecan stuff.
Brown Butter Nutella Swirl Muffins
I posted these muffins right before lockdown began, so they understandably got a little lost in the mix, but they are *really* good and you need to know about them. I mean, they’re made with brown butter and swirled with Nutella, so how could they be anything but wonderful?
I know this recipe has baguette in the title, but please know that you can make it with any good crusty bread you like. This is just a really solid basic French toast recipe–we all need one in our culinary arsenal.
Buttermilk Biscuits & Chocolate Gravy
My grandmother used to make biscuits & chocolate gravy for us on Sunday mornings. Her recipes died with her, but mine is pretty dang close to the real deal. Sweet, savory and deeply southern, this is one of my favorite things.
Bacon, Cheddar & Scallion Scones
These savory scones are great any time of day, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t suggest you use them to make an egg and tomato sandwich for breakfast tomorrow.
And speaking of eggs, my first post of 2020 detailed how to make eggs five ways: scrambled, poached, fried, hard-boiled and soft-boiled. If you can master these, you can put an egg on toast or dang near anything else.
For me, no breakfast (weekend, weekday, whatever) is complete without a small bucket of coffee. This small batch cold brew is a summer staple for me, and far more manageable than most of the methods out there. Just shake it together at night and swap the mason jar lid for cheesecloth in the morning. Perfect cold brew every time.
Have you made any of these or any of my other weekend breakfasts? Let me know in the comments or on social media!
Until a few weeks 
And while muffin/cupcake liners are the obvious solution to that problem, there was another to contend with: I was not terribly confident in my base muffin recipe. But then I went and tested the crap out of my 
You read that right: Brown Butter. Nutella Swirl. Muffins. Basically every good thing in the world in a handheld treat that is somehow suitable for consumption at breakfast.
The recipe for these muffins has a few adjustments from the Lemon Poppy Seed version, but not many. Besides the obvious flavor difference, there’s a little more flour and I swapped some of the milk for sour cream, making the batter a little thicker so the Nutella swirls don’t sink.
And speaking of Nutella swirls, they are applied in two phases. Basically, you add half the batter to the muffin cups, then swirl in some Nutella, then top with the remaining batter and swirl in remaining Nutella.
Y’all, these are so good. The interiors are feather soft and the Nutella swirls make every bite extra decadent, as all things with Nutella should be. Also, there’s a little variance in each bite—you could have a little Nutella or you could have a lot! The brown butter is subtle, as it is in my 
If I could change one thing about myself, I think I’d like to be a morning person. I really like mornings (especially the lazy variety), but I have such difficulty getting myself out of bed that I rarely enjoy them. It’s a whole horrible, eight-alarm ordeal on weekdays and I almost always sleep past 11 on the weekends, so I’m either a bleary-eyed mess or out like a light for the start of most days. But, on extremely rare occasions, I wake up early of my own volition—usually with the aid of jackhammers outside my window or the sun shining in my eyes—and I get to enjoy the morning, starting with making myself a nice breakfast.
Sometimes mixing flour, sugar, and butter is an act of self-care.
For something so rustic and beautiful, Nutella Morning Buns are surprisingly simple to make and come together in a pretty reasonable amount of time. It takes me about two hours to make a batch from the time I decide that a soft, warm bun full of chocolate-hazelnut spread might be nice to the time I dust them with confectioner’s sugar and dig in.
The dough is very straightforward. It’s got all the usual suspects: flour, a little sugar, butter, milk, and an egg. It requires yeast, of course, but I use the instant stuff here, which simplifies the already simple process, making these buns incredibly approachable.
If there’s anything that’s intimidating about making Nutella Morning Buns, it’s probably shaping. Never fear though—it’s really simple and satisfying. Once your dough has risen for 40 minutes, punch it down and roll it into a large rectangle. Spread it with a thin layer of Nutella and then fold it like a letter, so that you have alternating layers of dough and filling. Use a sharp chef’s knife to trim off the ends and slice the rest into a dozen 8×1” strips.
Working with one strip at a time, twist it up. Then cross the two ends over each other and tuck them into the hole that forms in the center. BOOM! Dough shaped!
Repeat with the rest of your strips and then let them rise a little longer. If some ends come untucked, just nudge ‘em back with your fingers before baking. Or don’t. These are the sort of buns that can take all sorts of manipulation and still look gorgeous when all is said and done. And even if they don’t, a swipe of melted butter and a dusting of confectioner’s sugar can cure all manner of ugly pastry.
But is there such a thing as ugly pastry when Nutella is involved? I don’t think so. Or if there is, nobody who tried one of these buns during testing found the time to tell me. Oh, and all the test batches were gone (GONE!) within 45 minutes of coming out of the oven, so I’ll just let that speak for itself.
I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to have anything but a beautiful morning when these are around.
If you want to know what kind of person I am outside of this blog, you should know that I once spent six months of my life obsessively making jam (and preserves) in a kitchen that is smaller that my current closet. Strawberry, cherry, grapefruit marmalade, gingered nectarine—you name it. I had all the preserving equipment you can imagine and an entire kitchen shelf filled with jars of colorful fruit-based spreads.
So, to wrap that up: I am prone to intense kitchen projects (hello, three year-old food blog with 
I mean, I am all about crunchy, nutty roll-out cookies, but why must they always be sandwiched with jam? Jam is not a dessert food, at least as far as I am concerned. A 
You know what absolutely *is* a dessert food? Nutella.
Chocolate hazelnut spread = dessert food.
Chocolate hazelnut cookies = dessert food.
A layer of Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread sandwiched between two crunchy chocolate hazelnut cookies = the dessertiest dessert food.
So, in conclusion, when it comes to Chocolate Hazelnut Linzer Cookies, no jam, no problem.
I suppose this is a year of unconventional Thanksgiving pies here on E2 Bakes.
I usually go for traditional pastry crust pies this time of year (and there’s at least one coming your way), but then there was 
Made with a graham cracker and hazelnut crust, a Nutella pudding filling, and topped with whipped cream and candied hazelnuts, this pie is basically the dessert of my dreams.
This beauty has hazelnut flavor all over the place. We’re talking 2/3 cup toasted and blitzed into a buttery graham cracker crust…
another 1/3 cup that are lightly candied and scattered on top…
and a creamy pudding filling that tastes like pure Nutella, but somehow even better.
Don’t ask me to explain how it’s possible to improve the flavor of Nutella—I can’t quite find the words.
You’ll just have to make a Nutella Cream Pie and see for yourself.
e2 bakes brooklyn 