Brunch

This classic combination is great for any time of the day: breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or even a late-night snack. If you are partial to other vegetables, such as asparagus or zucchini, feel free to tailor this recipe to your own tastes, either substituting for the broccoli or adding more veggies.

This recipe is a perfect way to use day-old or store-bought croissants.

This tart can be made a day ahead and kept at room temperature, loosely covered with plastic wrap. Reheat in a 300°F oven until warmed through.

Using canned apricots instead of fresh allows you to make these breakfast pastries year-round. Choose the prettiest halves and reserve the rest for another use.

Use the best-quality chocolate you can find for this recipe; some of our favorites are Valrhona, Callebaut, and Scharffen Berger.

Baking these buns in muffin tins ensures that each one will have a crisp, sugary edge, as well as a delicious, soft center.

These sugar-dusted buns, which are similar to doughnuts but baked instead of fried, have a surprise cream-filled center.

If using dry yeast instead of fresh, heat the milk to about 110°F, then stir in the yeast to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about five minutes, and proceed with the recipe. The dough can be made ahead through all of the turns and frozen for up to three months; before using, defrost the dough in the refrigerator for twenty-four hours. After baking, Croissants are best eaten within six hours.

The dough for these savory scones gets its unique texture and flavor from a combination of butter and olive oil. It was inspired by a similarly flavored yeast bread sold at Amy’s Bread in New York City.

These scones are so rich and dense, you may prefer to eat them as an afternoon snack, rather than for breakfast. Either way, they’re great with coffee.

Feel free to substitute other dried fruits for the apricots. We particularly like using sour cherries, cranberries, golden raisins, or chopped figs.

Sanding sugar is coarser than granulated sugar and lends a lovely sparkle when sprinkled over the tops of scones, biscuits, pies, and cookies before baking. It is available at baking-supply stores and many grocery stores.

Since they will start to deflate as they cool, popovers are best served warm from the oven. Butter and jam are traditional accompaniments.

Be sure to use unsulfured molasses—not sulfured or blackstrap—in this recipe. Also, buy the freshest, moistest dates you can find.

You can substitute an equal amount of chopped peaches or nectarines for the plums. Or use your favorite berries instead—the recipe is very versatile.

These muffins offer a nice balance of tart and sweet flavors.

Try sprinkling granulated sugar over the tops of the unbaked muffins (one tablespoon should cover all twelve) to give them a bit of crunch.

Make the most of fresh cherry season by baking the little stone fruits right into charming tea cakes. The cakes, made with ground almonds, brown butter, and egg whites, are similar to financiers, which are small, springy brick-shaped cakes named for their resemblance to gold bullion. These cakes are baked with the pits left inside the cherries (be sure to warn guests before serving). Or, if you prefer, remove the pits before baking, leaving the stems intact.

All the features of a traditional coffee cake—tender cake base, crumbly streusel top, and simple milk-and-sugar glaze—are packed into portable, single-size portions. Try serving them for brunch, or as an after-school snack.