How to Make a Holiday Breakfast Kit

Fill a simple cardboard box with homemade Spiced Cinnamon Biscuits and Pear Cardamom Butter. Tied with rustic embellishments, it's sure to be a hit with everyone on your gift list! The recipes below will provide you with enough goodies for 4 breakfast kits.

Make Cardamom-Pear Butter

Makes 4 cups

Ingredients:
1 pound fresh pears, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon ground cardamom
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
dash salt
dash nutmeg
dash cinnamon

Directions:
Put all ingredients into a heavy-bottomed sauce pan. Heat on medium, covered, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Turn down to low and simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Use an immersion blender to combine any larger pear pieces. Keep simmering until the butter has reached its desired consistency. Transfer to 8-ounce glass jars.

Tip: Make the pear butter up to 5 days before you plan to distribute the breakfast kits. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Make Spiced Cinnamon Biscuits

Makes about 12 large biscuits

Ingredients:
2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups cake flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon plus 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch pieces
2 large eggs
1 cup chilled vanilla yogurt

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400° F. Combine 2/3 cup sugar, flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves in a large bowl. Add butter and rub in with your fingers until mixture looks like coarse meal. Beat eggs in a medium bowl. Save 1 tablespoon eggs in a small board for the glaze. Whisk yogurt into remaining eggs in medium bowl. Combine the yogurt mixture and the dry mixture. Form a ball out of the dough.

Knead dough about 6 times on a floured surface, just until it holds together. Roll out into a 1” thick mound. Use a 2-inch-square cookie cutter to cut out biscuits. Combine the remaining dough pieces and roll out again to cut more biscuits. Repeat until no more dough remains. Place biscuits on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Mix the 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1 tablespoon sugar in a small bowl. Brush the tops of the biscuits with the egg glaze. Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake about 18 minutes, or until puffy and golden-brown.

Tip: For best results, make the biscuits the day you plan to distribute the breakfast kits.

Package the Breakfast Kit

To complete the breakfast kit, wrap three cooled biscuits in waxed paper. Tuck inside the white pastry box with a jar of the Pear-Cardamom Butter. Tuck a cinnamon stick or two inside, if desired, to add to the aroma of your gift. Cut one-inch-wide strips of burlap and tie on top of the closed box. Attach the faux greenery to the burlap knot with the raffia ribbon. You're ready to present the gift!