6 Decadent Breakfast Pastries You Can Bake at Home

June 03, 2016

There’s no need to stop by the bakery on your way to work each morning. Instead, prepare your own breakfast pastries, which make for great grab-and-go morning meals when they’re prepared in advance. Plus, there is no better way to start your day than with dessert-like items, such as easy cream cheese danishes, brioche au chocolat, and strawberry-graham scones. Which of these decadent pastries will you prepare first?

1. Orange Popovers

Popovers | Source: iStock

If you’ve ever struggled with getting your popovers to successfully rise,

Food & Wine’s foolproof recipe is a must! Adding a touch of baking powder to the batter helps them turn out perfectly, while a muffin tin ensures the popovers retain their shape. The recipe yields 12 serving and only takes 40 minutes to make. Looking for the perfect topping for your palate-pleasing popover? We suggest slathering your pastries with Food Network’sorange marmalade.

Ingredients:

3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1¼ cups milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Directions: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar and orange zest. Whisk in the milk and 3 tablespoons of the melted butter. In another bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until only small lumps remain.

Brush the cups of a muffin tin with the remaining 1 tablespoon of melted butter and heat the muffin tin in the oven for 5 minutes; the butter will turn a nutty brown. Carefully fill the muffin cups halfway with the popover batter. Bake the popovers for about 30 minutes, until they have risen and are browned. Turn the popovers out onto a serving platter and serve them right away.

2. Easy Cream Cheese Danish

Mixing ingredients | Source: iStock

Refrigerated crescent roll dough makes AllRecipes.com’s cream cheese danishes a breeze to prepare. Line the bottom of your baking pan with 1 can of crescent rolls, pinching the seams together to seal, and spread your filling — which consists of cream cheese, white sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and sour cream — on top of your rolls. Top your filling with the second can of rolls, bake, and then drizzle with a heavenly glaze. The recipe yields 1 (9-by-13-inch) pan and only takes 40 minutes to make.

Ingredients:

2 (10-ounce) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, diced
¾ cup white sugar
1½ teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons sour cream
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon butter, softened

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Line bottom of baking pan with 1 can of crescent rolls. Pinch all seams together to seal. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese, white sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and sour cream. Spread filling on top of rolls. Place second can of rolls on top of filling. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes. In a small bowl, stir together confectioners’ sugar, milk, and butter. After Danish has cooled, drizzle with icing.

3. Brioche Au Chocolat

Rolling dough | Source: iStock

Buns In My Oven’s recipe may look intimidating, but with the help of a mixer, you’ll find it’s quite easy to make. There is wait time involved with baking brioche au chocolat, so you’ll want to plan accordingly. The brioche dough and pastry cream must be made the night before you plan to bake the pastries. The following morning, you’ll remove them from the fridge, roll out the dough, and fill the pastries. The dough then needs to rise for 2 to 3 hours, bake, and then cool for 30 minutes. We highly recommend putting in the effort to make this breakfast delight; the end result is well worth the wait!

Ingredients:

½ recipe brioche dough
1 recipe pastry cream
⅔ cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
1 egg, beaten

Brioche dough

2¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2¼ cups bread flour
1½ packages (3¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
½ cup cold water
5 eggs
1 cup plus 6 tablespoons (2¾ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 10 or 12 pieces, room temperature

Pastry cream

1¼ cups milk
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon corn starch
½ teaspoon kosher salt
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: To make the brioche dough, in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine everything but the butter. Beat on low speed for 3 or 4 minutes, or until everything has come together. Stop the mixer as needed to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to be sure that all of the flour is incorporated. Once the dough comes together, continue mixing on low for another 3 or 4 minutes. The dough will be very stiff and dry.

On low speed, add the butter 1 piece at a time. Mix well after each addition until it disappears into the dough. Continue mixing the dough on low speed for 10 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down the bowl. It is important that all the butter is mixed thoroughly into the dough. You may need to stop the mixer and use your hands to help mix in the butter.

Once the butter is completely incorporated, turn up the speed to medium and beat for another 15 minutes or until the dough becomes sticky, soft, and shiny. It will look shaggy at first, but it does eventually turn smooth and silky. Turn the speed to medium-high and beat for 1 minute.

Test the dough by pulling at it. It should stretch a bit and have a little give. If it seems wet and loose or more like a batter than a dough, add a few tablespoons of flour and mix until it comes together. If it breaks off into pieces when you pull at it, continue to mix on medium speed for another couple of minutes or until it develops more strength. It is ready when you can gather it all together and pick it up in one piece.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap directly onto the dough. Let proof in the refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight. At this point you can freeze the dough for up to 1 week.

To make the pastry cream, in a medium saucepan, scald the milk over medium heat. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, corn starch, and salt. In a medium bowl, beat together the egg yolks. Stir in the flour mixture. The mixture will be thick. Remove the milk from the heat and very slowly add the egg mixture to the milk, whisking constantly. You want to avoid scrambling the eggs, so you need to drizzle the egg mixture in very slowly and stir constantly.

Turn the heat to medium and whisk the mixture constantly. As it cooks, the mixture will thicken considerably. Once it thickens, stop whisking every few seconds to see if the mixture has come to a boil. As soon as you see it bubbling, whisk for 10 seconds more and remove from the heat. It will become grainy if you allow it to boil for too long. Stir in the vanilla. Remove to a bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

To make your pastries, on a floured surface, roll out the brioche to a rectangle sized 20 by 10 inches and ¼-inch thick. Position the dough so that the long side is facing you. Spread the pastry cream evenly over the entire surface of the dough. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the bottom half of the dough, a 20-by-5-inch section. Fold the dough in half, bringing the top section of dough down over the chocolate chips. Smoosh it into place. Use a pizza cutter or bench scraper to slice the dough into 2-by-5-inch pieces.

At this point, you can wrap the pastries tightly in plastic wrap and freeze them. When ready to bake, thaw them in the fridge overnight and then continue to the next step. Place the pastries on a parchment-lined baking sheet a few inches apart and cover loosely with a towel. Place in a warm spot to proof for 2 to 3 hours, or until the dough is pillowy.

Brush the tops of the pastries with the beaten egg. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the pastries for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on the baking sheet for 30 minutes and serve. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 day and rewarm in a 300-degree-Fahrenheit oven for 5 minutes before serving.

4. Orange-Chocolate Chip Muffins

Orange-chocolate chip muffins | Source: iStock

Consisting of zesty flavors, sweet ingredients, and a lovely streusel topping, Better Homes and Gardens’ orange-chocolate chip muffins will provide you with the perfect start to your day. The recipe yields 12 servings, although you may want to consider doubling it. This breakfast treat works just as well for a midday snack!

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cup miniature semisweet chocolate pieces
2 eggs
½ cup sugar
½ cup milk
1 tablespoon finely shredded orange peel
½ cup orange juice
¼ cup vegetable oil

Streusel topping

½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
⅓ cup butter
½ cup chopped walnuts
¼ cup miniature semisweet chocolate pieces

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 12 2½-inch muffin cups with paper bake cups; set aside. In a large bowl stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in chocolate pieces. Make a well in the center of flour mixture; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, sugar, milk, orange peel, orange juice, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. Spoon ¼ cup of the batter into each prepared muffin cup.

Sprinkle generously with streusel topping. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from muffin cups; serve warm. To make the streusel, in a medium bowl, stir together flour and sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in walnuts and chocolate pieces.

5. Strawberry-Graham Scones

Strawberry-graham scones | Source: iStock

Bon Appétit’s recipe, which yields 10 servings, requires you to use a cookie cutter as a guide to shape and form your scones. It prevents you from having to roll and cut them out, ensuring your pastries turn out tantalizingly tender. Feel free to make your strawberry-graham scones in advance; they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days.

Ingredients:

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1¼ cups graham flour or whole-wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
10 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
6 ounces strawberries, hulled, cut into ½-inch pieces (about 1½ cups)
¾ cup whole milk
1 large egg yolk

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Pulse all-purpose flour, graham flour, baking powder, salt, and ¼ cup sugar in a food processor to combine. Add butter and pulse until the texture of coarse meal with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl, add strawberries, and toss to combine. Whisk milk and egg yolk in a small bowl. Add milk mixture to dry ingredients, and, using a fork, gently mix just to combine. Using your hands, gently knead a few times just until a shaggy dough comes together.

Place a 2½-by-1-inch round cookie cutter on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gently press about ⅛ of dough into the cutter, then lift cutter straight up, leaving a neat round of dough. Repeat with remaining dough. Sprinkle scones with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Chill in freezer 20 minutes. Bake scones until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool slightly.

6. Dark Cherry-Chocolate Breakfast Pastry

Cherries | Source: iStock

Breakfast doesn’t get any better than Pillsbury’s dark cherry-chocolate breakfast pastry. Six ingredients transform French loaf dough into a magnificent morning treat, which will appeal to kids and adults alike. If you don’t have fresh cherries on hand, feel free to use canned or frozen cherries instead; just make sure they’re drained and thawed prior to baking.

Ingredients:

1 can refrigerated crusty French loaf dough
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 cup halved pitted dark sweet cherries
¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate baking chips
¼ cup sweet orange marmalade

Directions: Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly spray 15-by-10-inch pan with sides with nonstick cooking spray. Carefully unroll loaf of dough in pan; press dough to cover pan. In small microwavable bowl, microwave 2 tablespoons of the butter on high 15 seconds or until melted. Stir in orange peel. Brush butter mixture over dough. Press ½ cup of cherries into half of dough, covering a 10-by-7.5-inch area. Sprinkle mini chips over cherries. Fold plain side of dough over cherries. Pinch edges of dough to seal.

Cover top of folded dough with remaining cherries; press into dough. In small microwavable bowl, microwave remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and marmalade on high 15 to 30 seconds or until butter is melted; stir to blend well. Carefully brush mixture over cherries and dough. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on cooling rack 15 minutes.