Holiday French Toast
The downside of blogging is that my family rarely eats the same thing twice. I’m always exploring and testing new recipes which makes it hard to hit “repeat.” A major exception to this norm is the Holiday French Toast from “Tables of Content: Service, Settings and Supper” a cookbook compiled by The Junior League of Birmingham, Alabama. This cookbook was given to me by my not-just-yet sister-in-law back in 2006, long before she knew how much I loved community cookbooks. I think that these tomes (usually spiral bound and homespun) are treasure troves of family gems, decidedly unfancy but reliably delicious. “Tables of Contents” is several steps above the community editions, as it is hard-covered and perfect bound, but the lack of photographs, template format and amateur contributions keep it in the genre.
I’ve served Holiday French Toast on Christmas morning for the past seven years and will do so yet again this year. My children look forward to it and more than any other recipe, it has become one of our holiday traditions. It is the perfect sweet treat on a morning sweeter than all the rest. The magic of being able to assemble the day before and pop into an oven that was set to preheat before the kids charge down the stairs, makes it all the more perfect.
With this, I wish you a merry, merry Christmas and I will be back in the new year.
Holiday French Toast
- 1 c packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 c (1 stick) butter, melted
- 3 tsp ground cinnamon, divided
- 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced (about 1 3/4 lbs)
- 1/2 c dried cranberries
- 1 (8-oz) loaf French bread, cut into 1” slices
- 1 1/2 c milk
- 6 eggs
- 1 Tbls vanilla extract
- maple syrup, for serving
- Combine brown sugar, butter and 1 tsp cinnamon in a bowl and mix well.
- Add apples and cranberries, toss to coat.
- Spread the apple mixture over the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
- Arrange the bread slices cut side down over the prepared layer.
- Whisk the milk, eggs, vanilla and 2 tsp cinnamon in a bowl until blended.
- Pour the milk mixture over the prepared layers and chill, covered with foil, for 4 to 24 hours. Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Bake, covered, for 40-45 minutes or until brown and bubbly.
- Let stand 5 minutes and serve with warm syrup.
Follow
January 13, 2015 @ 9:54 pm
My kids loved this on Christmas morning. Thank you Dani.
January 5, 2015 @ 10:49 am
We LOVED this!! SO easy to prepare in advance and I could not believe how delicious it was. I made it with Gluten Free cinnamon sliced bread and t still came out amazing. Threw in some dried cherries as we had them and no cranberries – an easy recipe to tweak or wing it with at the last minute (night before!). Thank you!
January 6, 2015 @ 8:47 am
So glad that you enjoyed the Holiday French Toast and that it worked well with the Gluten Free bread. Happy New Year!
December 26, 2014 @ 9:57 pm
We loved it! Boys helped me make it in the afternoon – they are pros with the peeler/slicer! Loved having nothing to do on the am. We used dried blueberries instead of cranberries. Absolutely delicious!!!
December 27, 2014 @ 9:46 am
So glad that it was a hit!
December 26, 2014 @ 5:05 pm
After I replaced the bread stolen by the poodle, it was a great hit. We ate the whole pan and I have a new Christmas morning tradition. Thanks!!
December 27, 2014 @ 9:47 am
Darn poodle!
December 26, 2014 @ 9:15 am
It was a hit! Prepped it all before bed on Christmas eve and the house started smelling great as we were opening gifts Christmas morning. Everyone loved it – even Payton (she couldn’t eat it fast enough)! Thanks for another great recipe 🙂
December 27, 2014 @ 9:48 am
The smell is a definite bonus 🙂 Glad your family enjoyed!
December 22, 2014 @ 3:36 pm
Wow…can’t wait to start the 8th day of Hanukkah off with this. Isaac is drooling already!
December 22, 2014 @ 8:19 am
Dani-this has become of favorite of my family too, thanks to you! Making for Chrismas morning this year!
December 22, 2014 @ 7:32 am
I bet it smells wonderful too!