Christmas Recipe – French Toast Bake

I was in charge of Christmas morning brunch this year!  I decided to make one of the many Pioneer Woman’s yummy recipes I have been wanting to try.  I have been a fan of hers since the beginning.  (I also read her cute love story, Black Heels to Tractor Wheels… I have to say it was a pretty darn cute love story. Quick and easy read too.)

It’s hard to make a large amount of French Toast and have it all ready at the same time, but this recipe couldn’t be any easier!  A French Toast Bake you make the night before! It was also so DELICIOUS. Thank you, Ree, from my family to yours!

Visit her site for more yummy recipes and stories! Pioneer Woman

French Toast 5

^ Breakfast is served… with eggs and bacon!

Cinnamon Baked French Toast

Ingredients

  • FRENCH TOAST
  • 1 loaf Crusty Sourdough Or French Bread (I used Challah bread)
  • 8 whole Eggs
  • 2 cups Whole Milk
  • ½ cups Whipping (heavy) Cream
  • ¾ cups Sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
  • Topping
  • ½ cups All-purpose Flour
  • ½ cups Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoons Salt
  • 1 stick Cold Butter, Cut Into Pieces
  • Fresh Fruit (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Grease 9 x 13-inch baking pan with butter. Tear bread into chunks (or cut into cubes) and evenly distribute in the pan.

Mix together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla. Pour evenly over bread. Cover tightly and store in the fridge several hours or overnight.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add nutmeg if desired. Add butter pieces and but into the dry mixture until mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in a Ziploc in the fridge.

When you’re ready to bake the casserole, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove casserole from oven and sprinkle crumb mixture over the top. (If you’re using fruit, sprinkle on before the crumb mixture.) 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.

French Toast 1

 ^ So easy! Just chop up the bread, mix the wet ingredients, pour over bread and put in the fridge for the morning!

French Toast 2

French Toast 3

  ^ Multitasking. Oh and making sure the Challah is challah good.

French Toast 4

^ You make a yummy crumble for the top with pecans! Here is the  scrumptious French Toast Bake!

Christmas Morning at the Ott House

The rule is that we all have to wait upstairs until Mom and Dad tell us we can come down….

We normally take a picture at the top of the stairs but this year we forgot!  I was going to try and fake it and use last years picture but someone had to go and get bangs in 2012… mhmm, Miss Caroline.

The Kids 2011edited

Go to Caroline’s blog for the rest of Christmas Morning… It All Ties Together

Merry Christmas!

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I don’t know of many other things I enjoy more than Christmas morning! I love having my family all together, taking a break from our busy lives, and celebrating something magical.

Our celebration begins the night before when we prepare breakfast for Christmas morning. This year, we chose to go with a French Toast Casserole!

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^^The finished product!

Then, of course, you have to leave out cookies for Santa and carrots or an apple for the reindeer who would travel long and far to each and every house later that night. My sisters and I write a letter to him every year too!

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And Santa always writes back…apparently this year he used his iPad!

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After that, we run upstairs and fall asleep as fast as we can because well…everyone knows that Santa doesn’t come until you fall asleep!

Our Christmas morning, this year, was a bit different than all of the previous years but still just as magical. Now that Emily is a married woman, we have to share her with Steve’s family on Christmas morning – our families agreed to switch off each year. Last year, Emily and Steve spent Christmas morning with us…so this year, Emily and Steve spent Christmas morning with Steve’s family. But, not having them over until Christmas afternoon does have its perks…we got to sleep in as late as we wanted! (We didn’t want to start opening presents without Emily and Steve, and being awake super early would be way too hard having to see the wrapped presents and filled stockings without being able to open them.) Then, we took our time eating breakfast, sang and danced around to Christmas music…until finally they arrived!

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Then, we got straight down to business opening our stockings and then presents.

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Santa was very good to me this year and I am so grateful.

Last night, we went out to dinner for Christmas Eve. But on Christmas night, we stay in for dinner and cook up a delicious meal of our own. We have also made a tradition of alternating who cooks Christmas dinner…and this year it is Steve’s family’s turn. So, I am off to get dressed!

I hope you and your family had a very happy Christmas!