Baked Cinnamon French Toast

Some people LOVE breakfast, I'm not one of them.  Brunch on the other hand I can get behind.  Breakfast for dinner?  Here, here! 

This baked cinnamon french toast was a find! It's the perfect dish for a weekend breakfast or brunch.  It feeds a lot of people, it's easy to make and......you can make it the night before! Was one of the first recipes I tried from my Pioneer Woman cookbook.

This recipe for me was a big winner because it makes a whole pan of french toast compared to making french toast by the slice.  Way easier, especially if you have a hungry family waiting at the table.  

This also makes a good dish for a bridal shower, it'll be a popular one. For me, this is a recipe we enjoyed on Christmas day after making it Christmas Eve.  Another perfect time to cook this up is Easter weekend.  Clearly, there's many great times to serve this up.

Baked Cinnamon French Toast: 

Ree Drummond 

Ingredients

• Butter, For Greasing
• 1 loaf Crusty Sourdough Or French Bread
• 8 whole Eggs
• 2 cups Whole Milk
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract 

Topping

• 1/2 cup Flour
• 1/2 cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• Freshly Grated Nutmeg (optional)
• 1 stick Cold Butter, Cut Into Pieces

DIRECTIONS

To make the french toast:

1) Grease the baking pan with butter.
2) Using a thick bread, tear into chunks and place in the pan.
3) Next crack the eggs. Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla.
4) Pour mix over the bread. Cover the pan tightly and store in the fridge (overnight preferably). Can make immediately.

For the topping: 

1) Mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and some nutmeg in a bowl.
2) Add the butter and mix using a pastry cutter. There will be clumps. Store in the fridge.

To bake the casserole:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2) Remove the casserole from the fridge and sprinkle the topping over the top.
3) Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture or for 1 hour-plus or more for a firmer, crisper texture. (We prefer the 1 hr time).
4) Serve with warm syrup, butter and fresh blueberries.

Other breakfast items featured on the blog:

Pancake Muffins

Mini Carrot Apple Muffins

Apple Roses

Bacon Roses

Bacon and Egg Cups