A healthy, nutritious breakfast is an important part of our daily routine. But let’s be honest—sometimes you need a little sugar to start your day. From sugar-dusted donuts to fruit-filled pancakes and Nutella buns, these sweet breakfast treats make ideal accompaniments for a morning cup of coffee.
Donuts are awesome. What’s not to love about a rich, moist circle of dough, deep fried to perfection? If you like cake donuts, try our blueberry donuts with a blueberry jam glaze or triple coconut donuts made with coconut extract and oil and covered with toasted coconut flakes. For the yeast donut lover, you can’t go wrong with the berliner, a classic strawberry jelly-filled donut.
Sweet buns are a hearty way to start you day. You can’t beat a classic cinnamon roll with nuts, raisins, and cream cheese. If that’s not rich enough for you, try adding Nutella. For something that’s still rich but has a citrusy kick, our fragrant sweet orange buns are just the thing.
Crepes are a fun, elegant dish that can be customized however you’d like. For a fruity variation, try filling them with fromage blanc and maple syrup and topping them stewed blueberries, strawberries, and peaches. For something especially indulgent, roll crepes up with maple syrup and brown sugar.
As a kid you might have started your day with Pop-Tarts. We update the classic toaster pastry with tangy goat cheese and sweet strawberry jam.
Blur the line between breakfast and dessert with these sweet breakfast recipes.
These crêpes stuffed with fromage blanc and maple syrup and are topped with stewed blueberries, strawberries, and peaches. Get the recipe for Crazy Day Crêpes »
This decadent pull-apart monkey bread loaf is composed of bite-sized yeasted rolls that get covered with a sticky-sweet brown sugar glaze and then baked together in a bundt pan.
Beautiful homemade croissants, each containing a bar of high-quality dark chocolate, make for an impressive and indulgent addition to a breakfast spread.
The crust of muffin-like donuts, a specialty of Cottage Street Bakery in Orleans, Massachusetts, is achieved by double dipping them in melted butter and cinnamon sugar. Get the recipe for Cottage Street Bakery Dirt Bombs »
As a kid, I wasn’t really into cooking or baking, preferring instead to be outside playing soccer. The one thing that I did enjoy helping my mom make, however, was her strawberry bread: packed with fresh strawberries, I loved to eat it hot out of the oven slathered in butter. It’s so fast and easy, I make it all the time now, with whatever fresh or frozen fruits I have lying around. —Farideh Sadeghin, test kitchen directorGet the recipe for Strawberry Loaf Bread »
Fresh strawberries turn ordinary pancakes into something scrumptious; wild blueberries, or any other kind of berry, make an excellent substitute. Get the recipe for Strawberry Griddle Cakes »
Maurice Vermesch baked these waffles (properly called Brussels waffles and, in Belgium, topped with just confectioners’ sugar) at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, but only after he sold them at the 1964-65 New York fair did they soar in popularity in this country. Vermersch’s daughter Mariepaule wouldn’t divulge her family’s recipe, but we think we’ve come very close. One tip she did reveal: Aunt Jemima self-rising flour produces a flavor that is the most like that of the original waffle.
Spreading cream cheese into the layers of dough enhances the richness and moistness of these rolls. This dough may be prepared a day in advance and left to rise in the refrigerator overnight. Get the recipe for Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls »
A buttery cinnamon crumble tops a sweet breakfast favorite; the cake itself gets an extra boost of flavor from cinnamon extract. Get the recipe for Cinnamon Coffee Cake »
Bananas and pecans come together in an exceptionally moist quick-bread from food editor Ben Mim’s mom—it’s irresistible at any time of day. Get the recipe for Mom’s Banana Bread »
Sweet and tangy, this Hungarian cake pairs perfectly with coffee. Frozen and thawed cherries can be used whenever fresh sour cherries are not in season.
These Roman-style biscotti are a favorite of Nick Malgieri’s for their distinctive anise flavor and atypical baking method: the loose batter is poured onto a baking sheet and baked like a cake. The result is light biscotti with large chunks of almonds and hazelnuts.
Chock Full o’Nuts, the storied chain of New York City lunch counters, serves this sweet sandwich of date-nut bread, cream cheese, and walnuts. Get the recipe for Nutted Cheese Sandwich »
