Four Breakfasts as Festive as the Season

With all the joyful chaos of the holidays — the presents, the parties, the cookies, the big, boozy dinners — it can be easy to forget about the most important meal of the day: breakfast.

There’s a good chance you might have houseguests who need to be fed en masse. Or maybe you’re hosting a convivial brunch on Christmas or New Year’s Day. The problem with the vast majority of breakfast gatherings is that they happen in the morning. And even if you didn’t drink one too many glasses of Champagne or flaming rum punch the night before, you might be on the utterly, overwhelmingly exhausted side, because this time of year does that to even the most energetic of us.

These four marvelous breakfast recipes are not only festive, they’re easy enough to put together in a less-than-perfectly-alert frame of mind.

The simplest is the baked Irish oats, spiced with cardamom and cinnamon. Oatmeal may seem quotidian, but it isn’t here. First, the Irish oats (also called steel-cut) are sautéed in butter and spices until toasty and brown. This step adds layers of flavor. Then they’re mixed with cream and baked under a blanket of Demerara sugar, which melts into a glossy syrup. (Raisin lovers should feel free to stir a handful into the pan before baking.) Served with more cream, and raw Demerara sugar for crunch, it’s about as glorious as oatmeal gets, without much fussing.