Mother's Day Brunch Ideas

The longer days and blooming flowers mean it's time to honor the mothers and important women in your life. Here are two ideas that work beautifully together — easy raspberry lemon donuts and personalized tea bags, either for brunch or tucked into a gift box.

Personalized Tea Bags

A small, thoughtful touch that makes any brunch feel special. Make a batch to serve alongside tea, or package them up as a gift.

Supplies

• Coffee filters
• Loose tea (Trader Joe's has great options)
• Small photos (design them in Canva)
• Twine
• Stapler

Instructions

1. Cut each coffee filter into a square.
2. Add 1 teaspoon of loose tea to the center.
3. Fold like a brochure, then fold in half again.
4. Staple a small piece of twine to the folded end and glue a photo to the tag.

Shortcut: Use premade tea bags and simply glue custom photos onto the existing tags.

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Raspberry Baked Donuts

Baked, not fried, with fresh raspberries folded into a lemon-scented batter and finished with a bright lemon glaze dusted with freeze-dried raspberry powder. Makes 12.

Ingredients

Donut batter:

• 115g unsalted butter, softened
• 100g granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
• 250g all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 80g sour cream
• Zest of 2 lemons
• 60ml lemon juice
• 125g fresh raspberries

Lemon glaze:

• Juice of 1 lemon
• 200g confectioners' sugar, sifted
• ¼ cup freeze-dried raspberries, processed to a fine powder

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two large donut pans (12 molds total).
2. In a stand mixer with the beater attachment, beat the butter and sugar for about 2 minutes until pale and fluffy.
3. Scrape down the bowl. With the mixer running, slowly pour in the beaten eggs in a steady stream, stopping midway to scrape. Beat until light and airy. Fold in the vanilla, sour cream, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
4. Fold in the flour, baking powder, and salt until just combined. Fold in the raspberries — they'll break apart a little as you fold, which is fine.
5. Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a 1-inch opening (a zip-lock bag with the corner snipped works too). Pipe into the donut molds without overfilling, and smooth the join with a wet finger.

6. Bake for 10–12 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack.
7. Make the glaze: whisk the sifted confectioners' sugar with half the lemon juice. Add more juice as needed to reach a coating consistency — add a splash of warm water if too thick, or more sifted sugar if too thin.
8. Dip the donuts into the glaze and set on the rack to dry. Dust with freeze-dried raspberry powder and decorate with edible flowers or sprinkles if you'd like.

Storage: Glazed donuts keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Unglazed donuts can be frozen.