The Most Important Thing You’ll Eat on Thanksgiving

I know everyone is getting all hot and bothered thinking about Thanksgiving “dinner” (if you can call a meal that everyone eats at 2:00 in the afternoon “dinner” — I sure as hell cannot) but in all honesty, I’m thinking more about Thanksgiving breakfast.

On the most important food day of the year, we mustn’t forget the most important meal of the day! Thanksgiving breakfast is a crucial part of this day of feasting.

See, when you have traveling/cooking/watching football/being hungover/munching on appetizers/getting schwasted with your cousins on your mind and on your agenda, it’s easy to neglect breakfast. The hostess often forgets it too –  she was so busy looking for fresh cranberries, she forgot she was all out of cereal. So some how we all end up just getting up and wandering into the kitchen, where we find nothing to eat and so instead simply grab an unbaked roll and a handful of pecans and then get down to the business of the day.

And that would be fine, if skipping breakfast didn’t make people batshit crazy. Not only does it make you starving by 3 PM (MAYBE THAT’S WHY EVERYONE EATS SO GODDAMN EARLY) but it also makes you hangry. I’ve watched this happen year after year in my family, and it finally occurred to me that on a day when you’re dealing with relatives, you can’t skip a solid breakfast!

And I like you, so I’m going to make things easy for you. I have your perfect Thanksgiving breakfast recipe. It’s going to keep your parents from getting divorced and your uncle from needing a triple bypass and you from putting on your stretchy pants! You can make it tonight or tomorrow. Bring it as a hostess gift or just set it out for your guests. It requires minimal ingredients and is incredibly filling!

Friends, meet your most important Thanksgiving guest: the cheese and herb scone.

I didn’t even know I liked scones until I decided it would be the perfect Thanksgiving breakfast, and now, after making these, I love them.

I read a bunch of different recipes and realized scones are pretty easy to modify without ruining, so I combined my favorites here. I also made some notes where you can substitute other ingredients based on what you have around and what is on sale.

Put your apron on and let’s go!

Combine 4 ounces grated Gryuere (or sharp yellow cheddar), 6 tablespoons minced fresh chives (or green onions), 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (or omit), and 1 tablespoon of flour. In a separate bowl, combine 3 large eggs, lightly beaten, and 1/2 cup heavy cream. In another bowl, combine 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp paprika, and 1 tsp salt. Add 12 tablespoons (1 and 1/2 sticks) of cold or frozen unsalted butter, roughly chopped. Start mixing with your hands until you have a crumbly dough — the butter should be about the size of peas.

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix on low until just blended. Then add the cheese mixture and stir until just combined. You’ll have a nice — but rather sticky — dough.

At this point, remember to flour everything. Your hands, your work surface, your knife. Once you’re completely dusty, pat the dough into a 9-inch circle. Using a floured knife, cut the circle into 12 wedges, transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and brush lightly with 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through. Then let cool on a wire rack.

And that’s it!

This breakfast is all you need to get your holiday started. It’s so filling. I had one for breakfast with a couple slices of thick-cut bacon and some green beans and I could barely finish it. The butter, egg, and cheese make it hearty and filling. If you’re feeling wild, you could throw some ham in there too.

Wrapped in a basket with a pretty tea towel it would also make a lovely “I swear you want me as a daughter-in-law” gift to present the first time you’re meeting your boyfriend’s parents.

I would totally do that if I didn’t already plan that these would be totally devoured on our 11-hour road trip to Kansas tomorrow.

I can always make more.