Why Not? Eating Fruit Desserts for Breakfast

There are certain dishes that are even better the next day—sometimes cold, right out of the fridge. We think pies and cobblers are squarely in that corner, and we're not ashamed to say we eat them for breakfast. What about you?

The way we see it, fruit cooked with a crust or sugary topping can't be any worse than a sweet muffin the size of a grapefruit or a flognarde that's meant to be eaten in the morning. And the fruit filling of a pie or cobbler that might run slightly when it's hot, straight from the oven, is pleasantly firm and fused with the crust come breakfast time.

We're not digging into brownies or cheesecake in the morning (at least we try not to make a habit of it), but we say fruit desserts are fair game.

Do you eat leftover dessert for breakfast? What's your favorite?

Related: On Birthday Cake for Breakfast

(Images: Faith Hopler; Elizabeth Passarella)

Comments (23)

A slice of leftover fruit pie or cobbler topped with yogurt is one of my favorite breakfasts.

My breakfast, yesterday and today, is an apple crumble. Any fruit dessert serves well as breakfast for me!

i just finished my breakfast, a (large) slice of apple pie. one of my favorite parts of having pie in the house is getting to eat it in the morning. knowing there's such delicious food in the kitchen helps me get out of bed.

I made something from one of the Moosewood cookbooks for a dinner party this weekend -- a very dense, moist, and not-that-sweet cake studded with whole grapes. The "winemaker's grape cake", it called itself; it also used olive oil for the oil and a small bit of wine, and a trace of rosemary.

Nearly everyone wolfed it down (one of the guests has a food quirk involving textures, and the skins kind of wigged him out), and almost everyone agreed that it would make a fine breakfast food. (One even suggested whipped cream to go with it, but that may be gilding the lily.)

I think there was a Cosby show episode where Bill Cosby is taking care of the youngest daughter and he tries to give her cake for breakfast. She declines and he tries to convince her that it has eggs, flour, milk, and some sugar. All these are okay and breakfast essentials. I am all for cakes, pies, brownies, cookies for breakfast. The problem is convincing my girlfriend that it is okay. She aint buyin' it.

For sure, anytime there is something on hand! My favorite is pumpkin pie for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving.

yes!
I love pie for breakfast.

My french host family FREQUENTLY ate leftover fruit tarts for breakfast. Totally acceptable, and delicious with morning coffee.

I think any pastry is pretty much breakfast. My favorite breakfast is a slice of birthday cake the next day with a big glass of milk. mmmm. It's not any better or worse than surgary fruit filling in pies/cobblers.

yes, pumpkin pie for breakfast the day after thanksgiving is a must! but really, I'll almost never refuse pie or cake for breakfast.

My French boyfriend does this all the time, and it used to freak me out (not only because a blueberry cobbler would last half as long as I expected) but now I am a total convert.

Heck yeah!
Apple pie tops the list for me (partly because I haven't made one forever...)

Although I generally don't do cake for breakfast, I recognize that most muffins are next door to cake.

Love it! Just made some apple turnover/hand pies inspired by Smitten Kitchen, and they're perfect for breakfast. Doesn't keep me going, though, so it's only once in a while that I do it.

I loooooove having a nice slice of homemade apple pie for breakfast.

Growing up, any baked good (e.g. cookies, brownies) were fair game for breakfast. I never realized that this was abnormal until I got married, and DH thought that I was nuts for eating cookies for breakfast. He has since converted to my line of thinking, especially since most baked goods pair wonderfully with coffee.

Calorie-wise, this ends up working out since I almost never have dessert at home.

the season of cobblers is over, now it is fall, but apple pie and a hunk of cheddar for breakfast is the best of all.

pie, absolutely.
I am not so fond of cakes for breakfast, though, unless they're heavy on fruit, like plum cake.

Husband loves banana pudding for breakfast. And fresh apple cake---dense like a brownie---is amazing, with a little bit of half & half poured over it. Strawberry cobbler is tops, too.

Not all that into cake for breakfast, but I used to eat pie for breakfast all the time growing up. Cobbler's are probably my favorite, peach in particular, followed by cherry and then apple. Pumpkin pie is also a favorite breakfast food, and is actually borderline good for you, since it's so packed with vitamins and minerals and a fair bit of protein from the eggs and milk.

Definitely a good idea! After our annual trip to the apple orchard, I make up apple crisp, which makes an excellent breakfast (it even has oatmeal in it - how could it not be breakfast?), especially on a cold fall morning. I just zap it in the microwave for 90 seconds and head out. Keeps me warm and full all morning long.

By the by, I have misplaced my favorite apple crisp recipe and haven't found a replacement yet. Any suggestions? My rules are that it has to have the oatmeal crumble top, and nuts are a bonus. No raisins though.

I have to agree that pumpkin pie the day after Thanksgiving is the best!

Any baked good is great for breakfast. Lately I've been eating angel food cupcakes (like a much more delicious, egg white omelette - and sweeter).

I also love rice pudding or bread pudding for breakfast!

I made a pineapple upside-down cake using Edna Lewis's Sunday Night Cake recipe, and I've been eating off it for days. The cake was created at my bf's request, but he didn't like the finished result -- whereas I'd never liked pineapple cake before, but really liked this (and will make it again soon!).