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Easy brunch recipes can be the answer to entertaining for a busy family. I LOVE to cook, but I work full time as an educator, in addition to selling Color Street, and raising our two boys, one of whom is nonverbal autistic. When we want to catch up with friends, we usually invite them over for brunch – a perfect time, in between naptime for the little ones and bedtime for our household in the #autismtimezone. I also happen to LOVE brunch foods – like these muffins and these quickbreads.
Easy Brunch Recipes
The bonus of these easy brunch recipes is that they are very flexible. Scale up or down depending on the size of your group.
Olive Oil Granola:
This is a staple in our household – it is also gluten-free, dairy-free, and I choose to make it nut-free. That makes it a great component in a brunch menu where you are feeding guests with dietary restrictions.
It is a very flexible recipe- I vary the seeds and dried fruit based on what I have. I also measure the oil before the syrup – the oil in the measuring cup helps the syrup slide right out.
Olive Oil Granola
Ingredients
- 5 cup old fashioned oats
- 4-5 cups coconut flakes, nuts, seeds of your choice
- 1 cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 1 1/4 cups maple syrup
- 2-3 tsp cinnamon, cardamom, baking spice or combination
- 2 cups dried fruit chopped, if necessary, into bite-sized pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and grease well.
- In a large bowl, combine oats and coconut flakes/nuts/seeds.
- Then add coconut (or brown) sugar, olive oil, maple syrup, and cinnamon/cardamom/other baking spice of your choice.
- Bake for 45 minutes at 300. Stir carefully.
- Bake an additional 30 minutes at 300 and let cool completely before adding about 2 cups dried fruit (chopped if needed).
Notes
Sour Cream Coffee Cake:
This is an old-school recipe with lasting appeal. I grew up eating this moist, but not gummy, dense, but not leaden cake. It is one of the few things that both my kids will reliably eat – and with the yogurt swapped in for the sour cream, the lactose amount remains in check.
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 whole eggs
- 1 cup sour cream or plain, whole milk yogurt
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Topping:
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Grease a 9 x 9 pan and heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cream butter and sugar in bowl of electric mixer, then add egg and blend until pale yellow.
- Add sour cream (or yogurt), then stir in flour and baking soda.
- Add some chocolate chips directly to the batter, reserving about ¼ cup.
- Pour half of batter in pan, sprinkle ½ of topping and ½ of remaining chocolate chips. Pour remaining batter on top and sprinkle with remaining topping and chips.
- Bake 50-60 minutes, or until done.
Notes
Easy Champagne Cocktail:
In my book, brunch isn’t really brunch without something bubbly. For a change from a mimosa, combine sparkling wine with a touch of elderflower syrup and a squeeze of lime – caviar lime if you can find it! Enjoy!
Questions? Reach out to me at lara@larasandora.com.
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