Cinnamon Star Bread

Cinnamon star bread on a marble countertop

This beautiful cinnamon star bread recipe is shockingly easy to create. It’s perfect for so many occasions—from holiday breakfast to a regular old Saturday brunch. The beauty of this easier-than-it-looks recipe is that you can play with the flavors to match your mood, sweet or savory! You’ll find the recipe and some variations below.

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Sufganiyot (Jelly Filled Doughnuts)

Sufganiyot (Jelly Filled Doughnuts) with various fillings and toppings

Sufganiyot are jelly filled doughnuts served during Chanukah. They are my family’s favorite treat during the Festival of Lights. These are not something I grew up having during Chanukah, but was a new tradition introduced to me in Minnesota by a friend who brought a box of store-bought doughnuts to our annual gathering. That was a dozen years ago, and I have been making sufganiyot ever since. I will never celebrate the holiday without them. Chanukah may not be the highest of Jewish holidays, but it is up there amongst the tastiest. Fried foods are served during the holiday to symbolize the miracle of one night’s worth of oil to light the menorah lasting eight days. I love everything about a festival dedicated to foods fried in oil and it’s even better that it lasts eight days. Latkes (potato pancakes) and soufganiyot are the two musts at the Chanukah table we share with friends and family. What’s not to love and they are easy to create. The key is a lightly sweet, enriched, yeasted dough that has just enough body to hold the jelly within. I made the dough with butter, because it is delicious, but if you want to keep this pareve (non-dairy or meat) you can use oil.

You can watch me make doughnuts in my Instagram Highlights video.

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Blueberry Muffins

Giant Blueberry Muffins Baked in Copper Souffle Molds

There is nothing more quintessentially breakfast than blueberry muffins.

For me a blueberry muffin has to be chock full of contrasts. It should have enough sweetness to feel decadent, but balanced by the tartness of the blueberries and lemon zest. A perfect muffin also has a top that has a thin crust of spiced streusel and under it is the tender muffin, stuffed with fruit.

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