"breakfast" news and stories

Forget Egg McMuffins. The Serious Eats team recently scoured the country looking for the Best Breakfast Sandwiches in America, and what they found blows away limp fast-food offerings.

The team hit both coasts and cities in between, eating from high-end restaurants and street carts, to find the most delicious sandwiches. And they came up with some mouthwatering finds: Country ham cradled between fluffy homemade biscuits. Scrambled eggs with house-made sausage and gruyere topped with a freshly baked bun. A chorizo-egg torta.


As Serious Eats put it, "These 19 are pretty flawless. They're the kind we'd set our alarm clocks early for."

Go to Serious Eats for the full list and mouth-watering photos.

This morning, Dunkin' Donuts introduced their biggest breakfast sandwich yet: The Big 'N Toasty. According to John Costello, Chief Global Customer and Marketing Officer at Dunkin' Brands, the Big 'N Toasty Breakfast Sandwich is targeted at those who need more than a bowl of cereal in the morning. "At Dunkin' Donuts, we realize that people on-the-go at times crave heartier foods to start their day," he says. "With the Big 'N Toasty Breakfast Sandwich, Dunkin' Donuts can satisfy even the biggest appetites with a fulfilling, portable breakfast at an affordable price," he said. Here's how it rates:

The Claims: The Big "N Toasty Breakfast Sandwich features two peppered fried eggs, four slices of cherrywood smoked bacon and a slice of American cheese, all packed between two thick slices of Texas toast -- the first sandwich to feature this thick-sliced bread.

The Price: $3.29 (prices may vary depending on location.)

No breakfast, no weight gain? Not buying it.

That sound you hear is eyebrows rising on more than a few nutrition and obesity experts. A new German study is challenging one of the most basic and longstanding tenets about weight and eating: that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Researchers at Technical University of Munich found that people who ate more food for breakfast didn't cut their calorie intake at other meals to compensate – they simply ate more.

The researchers looked at 380 subjects -- 280 obese and 100 normal weight -- who kept track of what they ate for about two weeks. Breakfast foods varied, but when subjects, normal or obese, ate at least 400 additional calories for breakfast, they wound up eating 400 more calories for the day.

"Reduced breakfast energy intake is associated with lower total daily intake," the study's conclusion said as reported in Nutrition Journal. "The influence of the ratio of breakfast to overall energy intake largely depends on the post-breakfast rather than breakfast intake pattern. Therefore, overweight and obese subjects should consider the reduction of breakfast calories as a simple option to improve their daily energy balance."

French toast meets the flavor of an almond croissant in this insanely good (and simple to prepare) brunch recipe. "You'll love the way the almond topping crisps up to offset the custardy innards of the bread," says KitchenDaily contributor Kemp Minifie, who created this baked version of the stovetop classic. Topped with ice cream and fresh berries, it's pretty close to dessert. We'll take it anytime we can get it.

Recipe for Baked Almond French Toast

And here's another perfect baked, fruit-laden French toast, this one for a romantic Saturday-morning-in-bed breakfast:

Melissa Roberts's Pilow-Talk French Toast

Like your breakfast on the spicy side? Chick-fil-A is listening. They've taken their Spicy Chicken Sandwich cranked up with chiles and spices and made it into a biscuit-based breakfast meal that'll stoke the fires bright and early. Chick-fil-A is launching the Spicy Chicken Biscuit on January 10, for around $2.25. But why pay when you can get one for free? You can reserve a free Spicy Chicken Biscuit starting December 27 at www.getspicychicken.com, and be one of the first to try the buttermilk-biscuit spice bomb. Your reservation gets you a "sneak peek" sandwich from January 3 to 8.