Batchable breakfasts make Christmas morning easy

If Santa Claus is bringing a crowd of guests to your place on Christmas morning, consider the following recipes a gift.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/12/2025 (267 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If Santa Claus is bringing a crowd of guests to your place on Christmas morning, consider the following recipes a gift.

Batchable breakfast dishes are ideal for a busy, chaotic morning of gift-giving. All of today’s Homemade recipes can be scaled up, one can be made ahead of time and the others are easy to assemble the morning of — allowing the chief brunch cook to stay present during the festivities, instead of getting stuck in the kitchen.

Find below reader-submitted recipes for Fancy Baked Egg Scramble from Evelyn Hinther, Apple Dutch Baby from Shirley Masek and Fluffy Pancakes from Brent Leung.

Have a recipe to share? Visit winnipegfreepress.com/homemade to fill out the submission form.

winnipegfreepress.com/evawasney

Fancy Baked Egg Scramble

45 ml (3 tbsp) butter or margarine

60 ml (¼ cup) onion, diced

60 ml (¼ cup) green pepper, diced

500 ml (2 cups) cooked ham, diced

12 eggs, beaten

125 ml (½ cup) canned sliced mushrooms (optional)

Mornay Sauce

30 ml (2 tbsp) butter or margarine

30 ml (2 tbsp) flour

5 ml (1 tsp) chicken bouillon powder

375 ml (1-½ cups) milk

125 ml (½ cup) Swiss cheese, shredded

60 ml (¼ cup) Parmesan cheese, grated

Topping

500 ml (2 cups) soft bread crumbs

60 ml (1/4 cup) Parmesan cheese, grated

60 ml (1/4 cup) butter or margarine, melted

30 ml (2 tbsp) fresh parsley, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.

To make egg mixture, melt 45 ml (3 tbsp) of butter or margarine in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté onion and green pepper until tender-crisp. Stir in ham and eggs and cook until just set. Fold in mushrooms, if using.

To make mornay sauce, melt 30 ml (2 tbsp) of butter or margarine in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour and bouillon and cook until smooth and bubbling. Gradually add milk and cook until mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Add Swiss and Parmesan cheeses and stir until smooth. Fold scrambled eggs into the sauce and transfer into the prepared baking dish.

Combine topping ingredients in a bowl and sprinkle over eggs. Bake at 350 F for 25 to 30 minutes or until light golden brown.

Note: This dish can be prepared ahead of time. Cover, refrigerate and bake as directed.

“I served it with a homemade fruit salad and croissants with butter and a variety of jams. It makes a great breakfast dish for Christmas morning.”

— Evelyn Hinther

Try out Brett Leung's recipe for fluffy pancakes. (File photo)
Try out Brett Leung's recipe for fluffy pancakes. (File photo)

Fluffy Pancakes

1 egg, beaten

30 ml (2 tbsp) butter, melted

10 ml (2 tsp) white sugar

250 ml (1 cup) milk

125 ml (½ cup) sour cream

5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla

375 ml (1-½ cups) flour

10 ml (2 tsp) baking powder

5 ml (1 tsp) baking soda

1 ml (¼ tsp) salt

Add the beaten egg to a bowl with the milk, sour cream, white sugar, melted butter and vanilla. Stir until well mixed.

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and stir until just combined. Let sit for 15 minutes.

Heat your griddle to 350 F or pan to medium-high heat and start flipping!

“If you like fluffy pancakes, you have to try these. Leftover pancakes can be stored in the fridge and warmed up the next day, although you likely won’t have any leftovers!”

— Brent Leung


Dutch Baby

2 apples, peeled and sliced

30 ml (2 tbsp) butter

10 ml (2 tsp) sugar

5 ml (1 tsp) cinnamon

3 eggs

160 ml (2/3 cup) milk

160 ml (2/3 cup) flour

Pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

A dutch baby (file photo)
A dutch baby (file photo)

Melt butter in a large cast iron or oven-safe pan. Add apples and sauté for a few minutes until tender-crisp. Remove the pan from the heat and sprinkle apples with sugar and cinnamon.

To make batter, add eggs, milk, flour and salt to a bowl and whisk to combine. The mixture doesn’t have to be completely smooth; lumps are fine.

Pour batter into the pan over the apples and bake for 20 minutes. Serve with maple syrup or topping of your choice.

“This recipe is a staple in our house. I found it to be a way to use leftover or soft apples. Easy and very enjoyable breakfast.”

— Shirley Masek

Eva Wasney

Eva Wasney
Reporter

Eva Wasney has been a reporter with the Free Press Arts & Life department since 2019. Read more about Eva.

Every piece of reporting Eva produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.

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