This morning was my boys’ first day of school — for eighth and 11th grades! — and while I was ready with big hugs and clean socks, the breakfast scene was pretty bleak. Toby said he wasn’t hungry, and Anton made himself burnt toast with a scrape of Vegemite.

With the goal of making our mornings yummier, I’m now on the hunt for breakfast muffins, which are such a warm, cozy treat. Bonus: We can make them together.

We’ve featured Jenny’s cinnamon apple spelt muffins, and our tried-and-true recipe is a batch of zucchini muffins with chocolate chips — we’ve probably made them 40 times. I’m also eyeing Genevieve Ko’s oatmeal muffins.

And, of course, you can always make a cake loaf. Deb Perelman promises you can throw together her blueberry muffin loaf while “half-asleep like the zombie I am most mornings.” And we’ve been long-time fans of Alison Roman’s banana bread and this apple pound cake, which French kids learn to make in pre-school.

Please tell me, what breakfast bread or muffin recipes do you swear by? The boys and I would love to hear.

P.S. Three throw-together breakfasts, and a Trader Joe’s breakfast hack.