Ina Garten’s sour cream coffee cake delivers everything a great brunch bake should: a light, moist crumb with subtle tang, a generous streusel layer on top and tucked inside, finished with a maple drizzle. Made with Cabot sour cream and butter, it’s the recipe worth saving.
Pizza Chiena — also called Pizza Gain or Easter Pie — is a traditional Italian meat pie packed with ham, sweet and spicy sausage, hard-boiled eggs, mozzarella, and sharp provolone in a golden crust made rich with rendered meat drippings. This make-ahead version breaks the process into two days for stress-free holiday baking.
For January cookbook club, we cooked from Brunch Season by Suzanne Vizethann of Buttermilk Kitchen in Camden, Maine. The standout: low-and-slow ginger-orange short rib hash with crispy sweet potatoes and sunny eggs, paired with smoky charred kale tossed in a tangy buttermilk Caesar.
Instead of walking to Tandem Coffee + Bakery, I baked Briana Holt’s Buttermilk Sugar Biscuits at home using her recipe from The New York Times. Grated frozen butter and multiple folds create crunchy edges, fluffy centers, and rich buttery flavor – finished with flaky salt and jam. Perfect for Christmas Eve.
These easy millet muffins from Joanne Weir are simple, cozy, and quietly special. A no-frills buttermilk batter comes together in minutes, while millet adds subtle sweetness and the most satisfying crunch. After a quick 20-minute bake, you’re rewarded with plush, tender muffins perfect for breakfast or snacking.
If you’ve never had strata, it’s the perfect Christmas morning treat as most of the work is done ahead of time, and it’s a hearty, warming dish ideal for a cold winter morning. This spin on a family favorite ups the flavor with a homemade mushroom cream sauce and crispy shallots!
This swirl coffee cake started as a half-written family recipe and evolved into a babka-inspired showstopper. Soft yeasted dough, bold cinnamon-sugar swirls, and a tangy sour cream-lemon icing honor my grandma’s original while turning up the flavor, structure, and drama – without making it fussy.
To celebrate ten years of Store Bought Is Fine, I tackled Claire Saffitz’s Everything Bagels – a true baking project involving kneading, proofing, boiling, and baking to golden perfection. They’re chewy, flavorful, and delightfully rustic, especially served with Tabasco butter, soft-scrambled eggs, and bacon. A new appreciation for the bagel pros!