Breakfast

Skip the scones and biscuits for brunch; serve this sweet and beautiful take on focaccia instead.

A simple addition to the master dough results in deliciously scented rolls.

The best part of a doughnut? The fluffy bite-sized ball of dough removed from the center. Did we mention these are dipped in a sweet maple syrup glaze?

Duck fat makes for a special treat; you can also use clarified butter or ghee, available at speciality foods stores.

Use very soft, ripe, heart-shaped Hachiya persimmons rather than the smaller, firmer Fuyu variety. If you can't find Hachiyas, substitute 1 cup of canned pumpkin. Stir any leftover purée into yogurt for a sweet breakfast.

Using a culinary torch is the best way to caramelize the sugar into a candy shell, but you can also make this old-school breakfast treat using your broiler.

"American and British cooks don't know how far you can take an egg dish," chef Yotam Ottolenghi says. Here, he deftly elevates it to a different realm by flavoring spinach with melted leeks and scallions, baking eggs on top, and finishing with a dollop of yogurt and a drizzle of butter spiced with a smoky Turkish chili powder known as kirmizi biber (though crushed red pepper flakes will also work). Serve the dish in one large skillet or two small ones. "It's always nice to surprise people," he s.…

Candied orange peel is the star of this granola.

"I was making breakfast at home one morning, and my son suggested using croissants for the French toast instead of bread," says owner Michael Stein. The swap was such a hit with his family that the dish soon made the restaurant menu. Stein is thrilled that the dish caught the eye of our young reader: "Sometimes you just have to let the kids have their way."