Feeding a crowd at the Holidays? Surprise them with this whimsical breakfast. 🙂 Use your cookie press to make a potato & ricotta cheese garnish. The combo is super yummy and the shapes are sure to bring plenty of smiles.

Almost all of my recipes on this blog are of cookies, so it’s nice to show you other ways to use your cookie press and disks!

I used a mix of disks from our Christmas, Snowflakes, “More Snowflakes”, Thanksgiving, and Leaves disk sets to show some Holiday-themed ideas. We have 367 disk shapes so you have a lot to choose from. I show these 5 disk sets at the bottom of the page.

Our website has all of our 300+ disk shapes, cookie press, embossed rolling pins, baking accessories plus more about our Women/Family Owned company! impressbakeware.com

All products are on our Etsy shop.

Our Amazon shop has our cookie press and disks and embossed rolling pins.

🎉 15% OFF Last SALE of 2025 ❗
🎄Make edible art for the Holidays, because baking should be fun!
Discount on our cookie press disks, cookie press, embossed rolling pins, luster dusts, cookie cutters & baking accessories. Sale December 26 – January 4, 2026, on our website and Etsy shops ONLY! (Links above) Sale excludes holiday gift sets and our recipe book.

There are a zillion breakfast bake (breakfast casserole) recipes online, or you may have your own family favorite. I’ve included my own spinach and cheese breakfast bake recipe, but you can make these shapes to top any breakfast casserole.

You can make this dish as from-scratch or ready-made as you like. You can start with all fresh veggies and cheeses you shred yourself, or grab some quick frozen veggies from the freezer and use pre-shredded cheese. I’ve made this both ways and honestly, it’s always great no matter what.

The first time I made this idea was for brunch with my bestie this summer. It’s a thing we do. We get together to hang out, catch up, and cook together! That day I shredded my own cheese – my two faves: champagne cheddar and merlot Bellavitano. Wow that was good lol. I added fresh spinach, onions, and portabella mushrooms and it turned out fabulous. It was topped with potato and ricotta daisies and butterflies!

For this post I mixed things up. Frozen spinach, fresh red bell pepper, and pre-shredded cheese. I used Mexican blend because it has a variety of flavors and melts oh so well!

The one thing I’m HIGHLY recommending is to use instant potatoes for the potato-ricotta shapes. Yes, you can use homemade mashed potatoes, but you have to make them very dry and thick and perfectly smooth or you’ll have trouble pressing. Plus you only need 3/4 of a cup of potatoes. I’ve done it both ways and trust me, just use the instant. It works so well and the taste is terrific. These shapes are a little garnish for a flavor pop and to be cute. They’re not the main course. So I say keep it simple. Idahoan Buttery Homestyle are PERFECT for this recipe!

All right let’s make this awesome dish!

Spinach & Cheese Breakfast Bake with Potato & Ricotta Shapes

(for a 9×13 pan)
12 eggs
1 cup milk
2 cups shredded cheese, divided (I used Mexican blend cheese, it melts beautifully and has varied flavors. Or shred your favorites!)
½ cup of spinach, sautéed until wilted if fresh, or until warm and dry if frozen
½ cup finely chopped green onion (I left it out as I used this for dinner and my daughter is allergic)
1 diced red pepper
1 tsp salt

Potato, ricotta, and parmesan mix for the shapes:

3/4 cup instant mashed potatoes (Already made according to package directions. I recommend Idahoan Buttery Homestyle as they have the perfect texture.)
3/4 cup full-fat ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon grated parmesan
Optional: add another tablespoon of parsley or herbs & spices you like. I’ve tried basil and it was delish.

NOTE: You want the mashed potatoes to cool and thicken, so make them ahead of time and put them in the refrigerator. You want the ricotta and potatoes to be the same temperature so they mix well. I made my potatoes the night before and refrigerated them. It can help to go just a little scant on the water for the instant potatoes, like maybe just a tablespoon less than they call for. It keeps them thick and thick is good for pressing!

Make the Potato and ricotta mix by mixing all of the ingredients together until very smooth. You can make this mixture the night (or a couple of hours) before, too.

Press your potato-ricotta mix shapes out before you start putting the breakfast bake together. You want them in the freezer, setting, so they’re ready to place on the casserole about halfway through baking. Freezing them helps them hold their shape while you transfer them.

Gather disks, press and cookie sheet. If you have one, use a cookie sheet with no rimmed edges – flat edges with no rim make it easier to get the shapes off! I set my disks in the casserole dish to see how many would fit and what order the shapes would be cute in.

Load the mixture into your press with a spoon, packing it in to remove any air bubbles as you go. Start pressing your shapes. NOTE!!!! This mixture is NOTHING like cookie dough! It is so soft and presses with barely any pressure. Don’t expect to use a “full click” per shape on your press. Hold back and practice a few shapes to see how much pressure to use. It isn’t much! If your mix is smooth, thick, and still a bit cold, the shapes should press beautifully. Don’t feel frustrated if it’s weird compared to cookie pressing, It was weird for me, too. 😂 You’ll make some mistakes and goofy-looking shapes. I did, too. Scoop them up and throw them back in the bowl to be re-pressed. Go slow and gentle and you’ll get the hang of it. I made more shapes than I needed for the top of the casserole in case any broke when transferring. None did, so I ate the extras. 😉 Yum.

It took a little practice and patience but mine turned out great!

Place the cookie sheet with shapes in the freezer.

Make the breakfast bake

Preheat your oven to 400° F

Use a little butter or olive oil to grease the bottom of your 9×13″ casserole dish.

Whisk the eggs and milk in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Hold out 1/2 cup of shredded cheese to sprinkle on top.

NOTE: Many recipes call for cubes of bread or potatoes to be set on the bottom of the dish before adding the egg mixture. I like to add dollops of ricotta cheese or any leftover potato and ricotta mixture. They make little pockets of puffy creamy yumminess.

Pour in the egg mixture. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until the mixture is soft-set. You want it just firm enough to support the potato and ricotta shapes without them sinking. Don’t wait until a lot of browning is occurring! You want the last 15-20 minutes of bake time to include the shapes so they bake and set.

WHILE THIS IS BAKING take the cookie sheet with shapes out of the freezer. When the pan has warmed up a bit, try removing a shape by sliding a thin spatula under it. Keep the spatula very flat to the pan! This is how you prevent breaking! (Same with cookies.) If they resist or break, wait till the pan warms up more. (This is why you make extra shapes 😉 ) Set the shapes on a paper towel as you remove them. As they warm up they’re unlikely to stick to that, but they might start sticking to the pan if you leave them there. You’re staging them so they’re easy to get onto the casserole quickly.

TIP: If you have any issues removing the shapes, dip your spatula in a cup of hot water. That can help get it under cold shapes. Wipe off any residue before re-dipping the spatula and lifting the next shape. You can alternatively try a little flour on the spatula.

Once you have them all off the pan and onto the paper towel, you’re just waiting for the breakfast bake to get done enough to hold the shapes. Not done, just semi-set.

As you can see, I waited too long. 😂 I was distracted by my dog who has a hurt back, so my casserole got much more brown than I wanted it to before I added the shapes. Try not to wait as long as I did. It should be set, but not done.

Once your shapes are all moved over, put the casserole back in the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes. Again, watch it and look for browning on top and bubbling. It should look set with the cheese nicely browned.

That’s it! I hope you all enjoy this and get some giggles and smiles from your holiday guests.

🙏We have a request💕 If you’re enjoying our recipes, *EVERY DISK & PIN PURCHASED helps us stay in business* & supports our families! Impress is a women/family-owned USA small business in Colorado. We design, make, & sell over 300 shapes of cookie press disks & dozens of embossed rolling pins. The recipes we share are free – we have no ads on this recipe blog – we make our money selling disks & pins. The recipes give our customers creative ideas and attract new customers!💕 THANK YOU! 💕~Susie the Disk & Pin Designer

Happy Baking!

~Susie

Disk Designer/Co-Owner at Impress! Bakeware, LLC

Our website has all of our 300+ disk shapes, cookie press, embossed rolling pins, baking accessories plus more about our Women/Family Owned company! impressbakeware.com

All products are on our Etsy shop.

Our Amazon shop has our cookie press and disks and embossed rolling pins.

Follow us on facebook!