Kate McCartney knows that frying bacon is one of the most powerful aromas in the world. It can wind its way around corners, underneath doors and into the dreams of sleeping guests at Old Iron Inn Bed and Breakfast in Caribou, which she owns with her husband, Kevin.

Her yeast-raised waffles and yogurt pancakes are also no slouchers when it comes to delivering a promising wake-up call. And nothing beats the perfume of just-cooked blueberry muffins. Innkeepers around the state start their days pumping out these aromatic summons to guests.

“The way the air circulates in the house, guests almost always smell the food in bed,” said McCartney. “Then when they come downstairs, you treat them as well as you would want someone to treat you. Most people don’t have time to eat a nice breakfast at home. So when they are staying here, they like it that someone else cooks and that they don’t have to do the dishes.”

This time of year, vacationers who stay in bed and breakfast establishments in Maine get served some of the most bounteous and gratifying morning meals in New England. Innkeepers tap into the plentiful local treasures, such as blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, salmon, lobster and any number of vegetables and herbs from gardens in the back yard.

Innkeepers are among the earliest risers in the morning, and, soon after, their ovens fill with pastries, breads and cakes. The goal is to give each guest a lovely start to the day — whether the inn has only four rooms, as in the case of the Old Iron Inn, or 16, as in the case of the Pentagoet Inn, run by newcomers Jack Burke and Julie VandeGraaf who bought the Castine inn earlier this year.

“We want everything to be very delicious,” said VandeGraaf, who serves a leisurely breakfast buffet of fresh-squeezed juices, homemade breads, muffins, granola and specialty items such as Featherbed Eggs.

Many innkeepers greet guests with questions about dietary restrictions, and then prepare meals to accommodate those requests.

“I always ask if there is something they don’t want to see on their plate in the morning,” said Jett Peterson, proprietor of Weston House Bed and Breakfast in Eastport. “I try to cater to their needs. We have only one seating here, but breakfasts have lasted for as long as two hours.”

That may have something to do with Peterson’s eggs Benedict with Kentucky ham and mock orange hollandaise sauce, or her Heavenly Pancakes with apricot sauce and a touch of apricot liqueur, or a puffed pastry with smoked salmon, poached eggs, hollandaise and dill.

“I want the meal to be appealing to guests,” Peterson added. “Of course, they don’t have to eat again until dinner.”

At the Blue Hill Inn, which has 12 rooms, Mary and Don Hartley offer guests a choice of five entrees each morning. Typically, there are eggs, pancakes, French toast, granola, fresh fruit, sweet breads, coffee, tea and juices.

“We find breakfast gatherings to be different from dinner gatherings,” said Mary Hartley. “People come into the day quietly and at their own speed. We want this to be a place of relaxation and respite. And because food is important to us here, we take a lot of pride in it. We want guests to have a pleasurable experience and to choose what they want.”

As with most innkeepers, Hartley serves more food than anyone could possibly eat at one sitting — even on vacation. But guests leave prepared for a hardy day of hiking or traveling.

“We hope they go away feeling they’ve been treated great and have had a luxurious breakfast,” said Cathy Heffentrager at the Jeweled Turret Inn in Belfast. “What makes us the happiest is when we bring out three courses for breakfast and hear the `ohs’ and `ahs.”‘ We like that the food looks as good as it tastes.”

Heffentrager’s signature breakfast food is a chocolate-mint scone. But she also offers other flavors, such as orange-poppyseed, oatmeal-raisin, and walnut-apricot. In addition to overn-baked pancakes and a poached lemon-cinnamon pear, Heffentrager and her husband Carl have developed vegetarian fare including a quiche made with a soy-based sausage and a breakfast burrito with vegetables.

No matter what Maine innkeepers are cooking, however, the scents call to guests and invite them to a rich breakfast, the kind you get only when someone cooks, cleans up and sends you fully on your way.

Joan’s Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins

Jean and Dud Hendrick

The Pilgrim’s Inn

Deer Isle

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cornmeal

3/4 cup sugar

4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3 eggs

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 24 2 1/2-inch muffin cups or line with paper baking cups. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar and baking powder. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, butter and buttermilk; gently stir into the dry ingredients just until combined. Gentle fold in the blueberries. Fill the prepared muffin tins three-quarters full. Bake until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature

Pentagoet Featherbed Eggs

Julie VandeGraaf and Jack Burke

The Pentagoet Inn

Castine

This recipe is prepared the day before serving.

4 cups of bread, cut into small cubes

1 1/2 pounds sausage meat, cook, drained and separated

20 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated

9 eggs

3 cups of milk

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon dry mustard

Grease 9×13-inch pan. Cover bottom with half of the bread cubes. Layer sausage and cover with 2/3 of the grated cheese. In a small bowl, beat eggs well. Add milk and dry mustard. Mix well. Cover casserole with remaining bread cubes. Add egg and milk mixture to casserole, filling to top. Save remaining liquid. Refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add the remaining egg and milk mixture. Sprinkle extra cheese over top. Bake for 45 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Brown Sugar Coffeecake

Mary and Don Hartley

The Blue Hill Inn

Blue Hill

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup sour milk ( 7/8 cup milk and 1-2 tablespoons vinegar stirred together)

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups light brown sugar, packed

In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt and baking powder. With a pastry cutter or fork, cut in shortening until crumbly. Remove 1/2 cup of crumbly mixture to be used for topping and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, egg and baking soda. Then stir in brown sugar. (Batter will be lumpy, which is OK, unless you are using an electric mixer.)

Stir in remaining flour mixture. Pour batter into a buttered 8×8 or 8 1/2×11-inch pan and sprinkle top with reserved mixture. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for a least 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Yeast-Raised Waffles

Kate and Kevin McCartney

The Old Iron Inn

Caribou

This is a superlative recipe — ideal because you make the batter the night before and for breakfast, you just have to plug in your waffle iron. Alternatively, you could mix up the batter first thing in the morning and have waffles and sausages for a delicious dinner. These smell great when cooking.

1/2 cup warm water

1 package dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

2 cups lukewarm milk

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 large eggs, beaten

pinch baking soda

The night before, combine water, yeast and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Let stand 5 minutes for the yeast to dissolve.

Add lukearm milk, melted butter, vanilla and flour and stir until completely smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit overnight at room temperature.

The next morning, heat waffle iron. Beat the eggs with the baking soda and add to the batter, stirring until well mixed. Pour enough of the batter onto the hot waffle iron to cover it and cook until crisp and golden. Makes 8 waffles.

Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Salmon

Jett Peterson

The Weston House Bed and Breakfast

Eastport

3-4 green onions, split lengthwise and finely minced

6 large eggs

2 tablespoons sweet butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup smoked salmon, broken into small pieces

1/4 cup cream cheese, cut into small cubes

1-2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped

1/4 teaspoon tabasco sauce

salt to taste

1 tablespoob sweet butter (for pan)

chopped parsley for garnish

Beat eggs in medium bowl. Add remaining ingredients, except onions. Melt reserved tablespoon of butter in heavy-based or non-stick skillet. When butter foams, add onions and cook just long enough to wilt. Add egg mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring continuously and scraping from bottom of pan. Remove from pan just before eggs set. (They will continue to cook in the hot pan.) Garnish with parsley. Serve on warmed plates with Maine blueberry muffins or tasted bagels.

Apricot Walnut Scones

Cathy and Carl Heffentrager

The Jeweled Turret Inn

Belfast

3 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoons salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup milk, more if necessary

2 eggs

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

1 1/2 cups finely chopped apricots

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In large bowl, mix all dry ingredients. Cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles course crumbs. You can use a fork, pastry blender or food processor. (Note: If using a food processor, be sure not to over-process dough.)

In small bowl, mix wet ingredients well and gradually add to the dry ingredients, using only as much of the wet ingredients needed to make a stiff dough. Knead the dough enough to make it smooth. Mix walnuts and apricots in a bowl and gently knead into dough.

On floured board, roll dough out to 3/4-inch thick circle. Cut in half and then into wedges. Place on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray and sprinkle with sugar. Cook for approximately 15-20 minutes, until lightly golden. Serve warm.