One Bagel, 2 Open-Faced Breakfast Sandwiches. Here's How Your Mornings Should Start

The promise of biting into a dense bagel adorned with any number of toppings is what gets us up in the morning. While many folks opt to eat their breakfast sandwiches as well, serving them open-faced is a far better option. From a bite perspective, eating the two halves separately allows you to get a more balanced ratio of bagel to accoutrements, but there's also the added benefit of being able to customize each half. That way, you can experiment with gourmet toppings on one, and keep it business-as-usual on the other, or take one half for yourself and give the other to a friend.

Preparing these bagels couldn't be any easier, as there is very little difference from how you'd normally prepare a bagel sandwich. You can pop your bagels into the toaster or under the broiler so they get nice and crunchy. Then, pile on your toppings and relish the fact that you don't have to unhinge your jaw to take a bite.

There are simply so many toppings that can go on a bagel, so making an exhaustive list of them is virtually impossible. However, we can start by recommending that you consider the type of bagel you're using. Plain and sesame tend to be the most neutral of options and allow you to go savory or sweet — or in this case, one of each — while everything, rosemary sea salt, and blueberry tend to lean one way or the other. You can also scoop out the bagel if you need more room for the toppings (though you may get some funky looks from bagel aficionados) before adding your accoutrements. If you're making two separate open-faced sandwiches, make sure that the flavors don't conflict with each other as well. For example, the fishy aftertaste from a loaded lox bagel doesn't jive well with a sickly sweet Nutella and banana sandwich.

Of course, there is plenty of room to be creative and experiment with your sandwiches. Take inspiration from Italian-American flavors and make a pizza bagel; layer on the tomato sauce and cheese on both halves, then make a veggie half and a meat lover's half. For a more breakfast-friendly option, you can also use different types of cream cheese on either side, and you'll never have to worry about choosing between bacon and sausage, since you can have one on each side.