We don’t leave the house on Christmas and the grandparents frequently come over to watch the boys open their presents. I don’t want to have to spend lots of time in the kitchen on Christmas morning, so I’ve been able to pull together some recipes which are prepped the night before and only require a few minutes the next morning. Obviously, these aren’t just for Christmas morning, but any morning that you’d like to have a nice, easy breakfast with minimum kitchen time!

Overnight Coffee Cake

1/3 cup softened butter

½ cup sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

1 beaten egg

1 cup flour

½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

½ tsp cinnamon

½ cup buttermilk

Topping:

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup pecans (or use oatmeal)

¼ tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

Cream the butter and sugars together. Add the egg; mix well. Mix remaining dry ingredients and add to the creamed mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Beat well. Spread into a greased 8” pan.

Mix the topping ingredients together and sprinkle over the batter.

Cover and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, remove it from the refrigerator for about 15 minutes and in the meantime, preheat the oven to 350f. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Overnight Cinnamon Raisin French Toast

2 TBS butter

5 Golden Delicious Apples, sliced

¼ cup brown sugar

3 TBS apple juice (water is okay, too)

1 loaf of cinnamon/raisin bread

3 cups milk

½ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

10 large eggs

1 TBS additional butter

2 TBS sugar

Melt 2 TBS of butter in skillet and cook apples about 20 minutes until golden. Add apple juice (water) last minute.
Grease 3-4 qt or 13”X9” baking pan. Arrange ½ of the bread slices in pan, overlapping slightly. Mix the milk, salt, cinnamon and eggs really well. Pour half of egg mixture over bread. Reserve ¼ of the apple slices, and then spread the remaining apple mix over the bread in an even layer. Arrange remaining bread in another layer, and then pour the remaining egg mixture over that. Press the bread gently, if needed, to help it absorb the egg mixture. Dot the top with the 1 TBS of butter and sprinkle on sugar. Cover and chill overnight.

Bake the next day at 325f, uncovered for 50 to 55 minutes or until knife comes out clean. Reheat reserved apple mixture and spoon over the top of the French toast as it’s served.