Cinnamon Baked French Toast

I know I'm a breakfast person, but I almost never make french toast. I don't know why. I like it. I eat it. I just don't really think about it much.

We had some day old french bread and cream in the fridge that I didn't have plans for and needed a home. My brain went right to french toast. And not just regular french toast. Baked french toast. I wanted yummy deliciousness but didn't want to have to stand around dippin' and flippin' all morning. I figured Ree-Pioneer Woman-would have something worth writing home about. And she did. I went right for it.

This stuff does not disappoint man! I cheated on the whole soaking over night part, 'cause, you know I only had patience to wait like 10 minutes before putting it in the oven. It still turned out heavenly. If you have the foresight to put this together the night before, more power to you. All you would have to do in the morning would be toss it in the oven. This would be great for company, or a lazy weekend.

Beware of those ooey-gooey little pieces though, they are dangerous! You'll want to snitch one because it's poking out making the row uneven. Then you'll keep snitching and snitching and before you know it, you've eaten a whole other row. By yourself. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Cinnamon Baked French Toast
For the toast:
1 loaf day old french bread
8 eggs
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cups Sugar
2 Tbsp. vanilla extract

For the topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick cold butter, cut into pieces

Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Tear bread into chunks (or cut into bite-sized cubes) and evenly distribute in the pan.

Mix together eggs, cream, sugar, and vanilla. Pour evenly over bread. Cover tightly and store in the fridge several hours or overnight. (Or if you're like me, you can just wait 10 minutes or so, while the oven heats up.)

In a separate bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add nutmeg if desired. Add butter pieces and cut into the dry mixture until mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in and airtight bag or container the fridge if you're not baking the french toast right away.

When you're ready to bake the french toast, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove pan from fridge and sprinkle crumb mixture over the top. Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture. Bake 1 hour or more for a firmer, less liquid texture.

Scoop out individual portions. Top with butter and drizzle with maple syrup.




SOURCE: Pioneer Woman