Brunch season is finally upon us. Mother’s Day brunch, Easter brunch, even the University dining halls got the memo and hosted breakfast for dinner nights earlier in the semester. It’s easily the most popular meal of the day.
Every weekend, students can be found crowding into The Pigeon Hole and Fig, along with other popular locations across Charlottesville, serving up both breakfast and lunch options. For these students, making brunch themselves probably seems like an impossible feat because of the often elaborate recipes that span the web and cookbook libraries. Dishes like eggs benedict with perfect hollandaise sauce and fluffy quiche can be elusive to even the most seasoned chef, much less to drowsy college students.
I encountered this brunch-induced discouragement when I came across a recipe for egg and cheese breakfast cups. My mouth watered at the delicious looking photos that accompanied it. I stuck it in a file of recipes to try at a later date, however, because it looked like the recipe incorporated fancy ingredients and complicated processes. Saddened by a lost chance try a new dish, I headed to my favorite brunch spot, The Pigeon Hole, to drown my sorrows in coffee and a heaping plate of french toast.
While eating that morning, I realized I could not be the only one on Grounds frustrated by these overly complicated recipes. Brunch should not be this scary. So I decided to rework the breakfast cup recipe to better fit the lifestyle and resources of college students. Today, I bring you a modified, quick and completely accessible recipe for these little bites of heaven that any beginner cook or sleepy college student can throw together.
These breakfast cups will “wow” your roommates, housemates or friends, and they don’t have to know that only minimal effort and less than a half hour of work went into them. They resemble mini quiches but have a flavor all their own. The buttery crescent rolls are the perfect base to hold together the eggs and toppings for easy eating. The recipe can be altered to cater to personal tastes or any dietary restrictions. You can swap ham for bacon, add any cheese or mixture of cheeses and sub in tomatoes, mushrooms or any other toppings you prefer. The cups are filling on their own, but I paired them with seasonal fruit for a full brunch spread.
So, instead of cowering in fear of fancy brunch recipes this weekend, pour yourself a cup of joe and whip up these simple but delicious egg cups.
Simplified Breakfast Egg Cups
Time: 25 minutes
Serves eight
Ingredients:
8 ounce can of Pillsbury Original Crescent Rolls
8 large eggs
1/2 cup cheddar cheese (or any cheese of preference)
1/4 cup diced green pepper
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup sliced deli ham
2 tablespoons of melted butter
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Spray eight cups of a regular size muffin tin with non-stick spray.
- Dice peppers and onions, and slice ham into small squares and set aside.
- Open crescent rolls and separate dough into eight triangles according to the perforated lines. Place one triangle in each prepared cup, pressing firmly into the bottom of the muffin tin. Fold the longer corner back into the cup and press it down so that only a little but of dough peeks over the edge.
- Cover the bottom of the cup with a layer of cheddar cheese. Crack an egg into each cup. This should fill up the cup most of the way.
- Next sprinkle a few squares of diced onion, pepper and ham on top of the egg. Brush the exposed edges of the crescent roll with melted butter. This can be done with a paper towel dipped in butter if you do not have a pastry brush. Make sure to coat all exposed dough to prevent browning while baking.
- Sprinkle each cup with salt and pepper.
- Bake on middle rack in oven for 15 minutes, or until the egg is set.
- Remove and serve warm.
Adapted from The Virginian-Pilot and Pinch of Yum
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