After the excitement of Christmas morning and opening packages from Santa, many families sit down to a family breakfast. No one knows breakfast like Vermont country inns. Below we share a couple of recipes perfect for Christmas morning, thanks to the Golden Stage Inn in Proctorsville, VT. The addition of maple syrup gives them that special taste of Vermont. Enjoy!

Maple Nut Twists

Biscuit Dough:
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup milk

 Filling:
1/2  cup chopped nuts (any kind)
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
3 Tablespoons butter, very soft
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon  

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray (or use parchment paper).
In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt.
Cut in 1/2 cup butter using pastry blender or hands (or grate frozen butter) until mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
Add 3/4 cup milk and stir with fork just until moistened.
On lightly floured surface, knead dough 10-12 times or until almost smooth.
Pat or roll dough into 15×9 inch rectangle.
In small bowl, stir all filling ingredients until well mixed.
Spread filling over dough:  cover the full 15” length, but only the bottom half (about 4.5”).
Fold the bare top half over the covered bottom half, making a 15×4 rectangle.
Cut folded dough into 1” strips.  There should be 15 of them.
Gently lift each strip and twist two times.
Place on cookie sheet, about 1” apart from each other.
Bake until golden brown.   450 degrees, 10-12 minutes.  (Bottom browns quickly.)

Maple Glaze:
1/2  cup powdered sugar
1 ½ tsp milk (or more)
1/4 teaspoon maple flavoring

In small bowl, mix the glaze, adding enough liquid for desired thickness.
Drizzle stripes of glaze over warm biscuits. Serve warm or cooled.

Eggs in a Maple Basket

Ingredients:
Six servings (two baked eggs per serving).
12 pieces of bread
12 eggs
¼ c. butter, melted
¼ c. maple syrup
Herbs and/or salt
Optional: shredded or grated cheese for garnish.

Directions:
Grease 12 muffin cups. Combine butter and syrup. Set aside. Remove and discard crusts from bread. Gently roll each piece of bread flat with a rolling pin. Brush the maple butter onto both sides of each piece of bread. Tuck and shape a piece of bread into each muffin cup, pressing bread against sides, forming it to the shape of the muffin cup.
Crack an egg into each cup.
Sprinkle with herbs and/or sea salt.
Bake at 400 for 14-18 minutes until set.  (Less time will allow the yolk to be runny. More time results in a solid yolk.)
Note: the eggs will continue to cook as they rest; be careful not to overcook.
Sprinkle some parmesan or grated cheddar on eggs and on plate for garnish.
Best if served immediately.

If you are heading to Vermont for the holiday ski season, consider a stay at the Golden Stage Inn located a short distance from Okemo. There are many more delicious treats being whipped up in the inn’s kitchen.