There is truly nothing I love more than Christmas morning. Every year growing up I’d wake up to the smell of something delicious baking in my families oven – it always varied between some sort of festive, spiced breakfast casserole dish, pumpkin bread, homemade cinnamon rolls – whatever it was, it was always incredible (thanks, mom!). Coffee was always brewing, the fire was always on, and the faint sound of Christmas tunes streamed through the hallways. Nothing beats this.
As time went on and my brother and I grew up, moved out of the house, and onto our ‘new’ lives with our significant others – these traditions began to look slightly different, but they’ll never steer too far.
One aspect of Christmas morning I always loved was sitting down to enjoy mom’s breakfast cookin’ and sharing in a toast with our mimosas. While we are a pretty simple bunch – OJ, champagne and some berries have always sufficed - this year, I’m heading to my parent’s house early and prepping the bites and bubbly and I am so excited.
With Christmas morning festivities only a few weeks out, I decided to try a Mimosa Bar and Mini Cinnamon Banana Berry Bread recipe at home during the rainy weekend we had last week – because ya know, I had to test it out first before the family does! Let me just start off by saying it was all d e l I c I o u s.
To add some herbal fusion and flare to the standard mimosa, I recommend opting for some fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme and mint. I also decided to stick with more ‘fall’ inspired juices and went with pear nectar, pomegranate, and grapefruit rather than the standard orange juice classic. And, all you ever need to make a mimosa bar fully complete is a handful of your favorite California Giant berries – blackberries and raspberries work great with these because they add a lot of flavor and color to the different variations, and taste so good when eaten solo once your drink is finished!
Here are the mimosa variations I went with and recommend:
As for the mini bread loaves – could these be any cuter?! I loved the idea of making mini loaves versus using the standard 9x5 loaf pan, because a little portion control never hurt anybody during the holidays and these look adorable on display. Seriously, head to your nearest Sur La Table and get your hands on one of these trays if you don’t have one already! What I really love about these Mini Cinnamon Banana Berry Loaves is that they’re not only great for the holidays, but really any day (not to mention, so easy to make, too!)
These were spiced and sweet, with a moist center and slightly golden-cinnamon crisp topping – perfect for Christmas morning and they made the home smell oh so good. What I like about this bread is that you can also incorporate any berry into it, which definitely helped aid in the moist texture. I personally thought blackberries and blueberries would be the perfect combination of sweet and tart, and I was right. It’s also important to keep in mind that these mini loaves bake much quicker than your standard size bread pan – with only about 20-25 minutes bake-time in the oven!
Now that I’ve already prepped my Christmas morning contributions, I am so excited to make these again in a few weeks for my whole family to enjoy! What are your Christmas traditions? Anything in particular you bake every year for the holiday? I’d love to know in the comments below! Be sure to also sign up for our Home for the Holidays Sweepstakes for the chance to win something to sweeten up your home this Christmas – we’re giving away a holiday-themed prize each week that you won’t want to miss!
Cheers!
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Recipes using 10 ingredients or less including:
