French Toast Muffins

I'm not sure but I may be obsessed with muffins.  I've posted countless muffin recipes on my blog, lusted after pictures of luscious looking muffins, pined over amazing muffin recipes.  Am I alone?  I think not.  Muffins are a beautiful thing.  They're relatively easy to make and if you make them correctly they can be delicious.  Muffins are also a single serve option for feeding a crowd.  Sadly, the muffin is too often over looked.  But not by me. I've made these muffins twice now.  Last week, I made them and added some chopped up cooked bacon to the topping.  My husband and I loved them that way but my son was having none of it.  I had several relatives and friends side with him, so I got up early this morning and baked a batch sans the bacon. But let me be perfectly honest with you folks.   I baked the muffins in large muffin pans so I got only 8 big muffins instead of 12 smaller ones.    I hope he likes them.  I'll know soon enough.  

French Toast Muffins

Recipe from Framed, originally from Food.com

French Toast Topping

3 tablespoons milk

1 egg, slightly beaten

6 slices cinnamon bread, crusts removed, cut into ½ inch cubes

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Muffins

1 ½ cups milk

½ cup butter, melted and cooled

1 egg, slightly beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups flower

¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

Topping

¼ cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons sugar

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine all the French toast topping ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.  Combine milk, melted butter, egg and vanilla extract in another medium bowl.  Combine all remaining ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir milk mixture into flour mixture just until mixed.

Spoon batter into a greased or lined 12 cup muffin pan.  Spoon French toast topping evenly over batter; press down slightly.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Immediately, brush muffins with maple syrup.  Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Sprinkle over glazed muffins.  Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan.  Serve warm.

French Breakfast Muffins

These muffins are the bomb. Try them. Easy and delicious for breakfast or any time.

French Breakfast Muffins

Makes 12 Muffins

Ingredients:

Muffins:

· 2 cups flour

· 2/3 cup sugar

· 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

· ½ teaspoon salt

· ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

· 1 large egg

· 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

· 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cinnamon-Sugar Topping:

· ½ cup sugar

· ½ teaspoon cinnamon

· 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

Instruction:

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter the bottoms (only) of 12 standard-size muffin cups and set the pan aside.

2. Measure the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg into a large mixing bowl and combine them with a whisk.

3. In a medium-size bowl, whisk the egg until it’s frothy. Blend in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid mixture.

4. Using a wooden spoon, mix the batter just until it’s evenly blended, then spoon it into the muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full.

5. Bake the muffins on the center rack for 15 minutes. Then rotate the pan and bake for an additional 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack until the muffins are cool enough to handle, about 5 minutes, and then remove them from the cups.

6. Before the muffins lose their warmth, prepare the topping. Mixing the sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl. Melt the butter and transfer it to a separate small bowl. Set both bowls next to the muffins.

7. Working on one muffin at a time, quickly dip the tops in the melted butter and then in the cinnamon sugar, rolling each muffin in all directions to cover the entire top. If you’d like more topping, roll them in the cinnamon sugar for a second time while they’re still warm. Serve immediately.

www.familyfun.com

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Eggnog French Toast

Merry Christmas!



I decided to make something special for Christmas Morning breakfast this year.  I had left over eggnog from the eggnog cookies I made so I thought Eggnog French Toast would be perfect this morning!  I started with a recipe from www.cooks.com and added a few touches that I got from the Alton Brown french toast recipe I posted a few years ago.  It came out great.

Egg Nog French Toast

Adapted from Cooks.com

Ingredients:

 

1 cup commercial eggnog

2 eggs

6 slices cinnamon bread (Arnold)

1 tablespoon honey (warmed)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar


Directions:

In a small bowl, combine egg, egg nog and honey with a fork just until egg breaks up.

Put sliced bread in a shallow flat-bottomed bowl.  Pour egg mixture over bread and let sit for 2-3 minutes per side.  Then place sliced bread onto a cooling rack for another 2 minutes to let excess egg mixture drip off.

In an electric skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and saute each slice over medium heat (350 degrees) for 3 minutes or until golden brown.

Turn over and cook an additional 1-1/2 minutes.  Serve, sprinkled with sugar and pat of butter.  Or pour over a little warm maple syrup, if desired.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Oven Baked French Toast

I found this recipe in the newspaper. Our local paper has recipes in the "lifestyle" section about once or twice a week. This particular week I found a bunch of recipes that I'll be making over the course of time. This one attracted my attention right away when it said "easy and inexpensive". That is right up my alley. Also, you may know that my family loves french toast. This recipe was definitely one of the easiest to make. It requires little to no preparation. It can be made ahead so you can just pop it in the oven when you are ready to bake it. My only complaint was that the sugar I sprinkled on top did not melt as promised. I think it would have worked better if I had dotted the top of the french toast with some butter and then sprinkled on the sugar. I'll try that next time. If you are worried about cholesterol, you can use Just Whites or some other egg substitute.

I'm planning to make this for the upcoming teacher appreciation week breakfast for D's school. That is coming up during the first week of May. Actually, I think that is a country-wide Teacher Appreciation week so if you want to say "thank you" to your kids teachers, please remember to do it during the first week of May. They deserve it.

Oven Baked French Toast
with Mixed Berry Sauce

For the French Toast:

16 to 20 ounce loaf sliced white bread, ends discarded (I used Arnold Brick Oven)
1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
6 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups low-fat milk

For the Berry Sauce:

1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch
3 cups fresh or frozen mixed berries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Arrange enough whole bread slices in a single layer to cover the bottom of the dish. Cut the remaining slices in half on the diagonal and arrange them in overlapping rows on top. You should have 3 rows of bread triangles. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and nutmeg. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla until well blended. Gradually whisk in the milk.

Slowly and evenly pour the egg mixture over the bread slices and let soak for 5 minutes. Use a fork or spatula to gently press down on the bread to ensure it is evenly soaked.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the french toast is puffed. sprinkle the top of the french toast with sugar, then set the oven to broil. Broil the french toast until the sugar is melted and the bread is lightly browned.

While the french toast bakes, in a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and cornstarch. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the berries, sugar water and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and stir in lemon juice mixture. Simmer, stirring often, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes more. Let cool.

When the french toast is done baking, serve immediately topped with mixed berry sauce.

Serves 8.

Start to finish: 1 hour (25 minutes active)

Honeyed French Toast Sandwich

Yes, we are doing another French Toast recipe. Obviously, we are big French Toast fans around here. D and I both had today off so he wanted to make something out of a cookbook. He decided on using the Breakfast All Day by Edon Waycott cookbook. He found two more french toast recipes. We tried one today with a few substitutions for items that I didn't have in the house. We both loved these "sammies" as Rachel Ray would call them. But that is for another day.

We substituted marscapone cheese for the ricotta cheese. You may be wondering why we had marscapone cheese in our house. That is a valid question. D has been on a marscapone cheese kick since he found out it is a good substitute for cream cheese. It has less calories and fat in it. I have to agree that it tastes great. Try it some time.

Honeyed French Toast Sandwich

3 large eggs

1/2 cup low fat milk

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

4 slices firm-textured white or egg bread

1 tablespoon safflower oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/4 cup ricotta cheese

1 cup thinly sliced strawberries

powdered sugar

maple syrup (optional)

In a shallow dish, whisk together the eggs, milk, honey, flour, and baking powder. Press each piece of bread into the mixture and allow to soak for several minutes. Using a spatula, turn, and allow the other side to soak.

In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil and butter. Using a spatula, lift the bread from the batter into the pan and brown on both sides. Spread the yogurt cheese on 2 of the slices and distribute the strawberries evenly over the cheese. Top with the remaining slices, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve. Pass maple syrup, if desired. Makes 2 sandwiches.

There is a variation to make ham sandwiches:

After browning, spread one side of each of the 2 slices with Dijon mustard, add thinly sliced ham, and top with the remaining slice of toast. Serve hot. This sounds really yummy, too!

The Creative Cook & Son

FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE

I was asked to make a breakfast casserole for the PTA's back-to-school breakfast for the teachers this morning. Last week, I started looking for my "tried and true" recipe that I have had for years and used successfully many times. Well, I couldn't find it! I probably tossed the hard copy thinking that it was safe on my hard drive. I searched everywhere for that recipe, I searched for it on my hard drive, in my kitchen drawer, on the Internet and nothing. I found LOTS of other similar recipes. Unfortunately, none of them is exactly the same as the one I love. I tried another one of the recipes that I found on the Internet. This recipe is similar to mine in that you have to cube the bread and soak it over-night in the fridge. The differences are that in my old recipe, the cream cheese was not blended in with the egg but cubed and placed on top of the bread. Also, instead of powdered sugar my old recipe called for cinnamon sugar. My only complaint with it is that it took way longer than the 30 minutes the recipe suggests to bake it. I kept it in the oven for at least one hour. I am also going to pass on several of the other recipes I found online. If I find my old recipe, I'll be sure to post it for you, too.

French Toast Souffle
All-Recipes by Betty

10 cups white bread cubes (about 1 large loaf)
1 (8 ounces) package low fat cream cheese, softened
8 eggs
1-1/2 cups milk
2/3 cup half-and-half cream
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Instructions:

1. Place bread cubes in a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

2. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in milk, half and half, maple syrup, and vanilla until mixture is smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture over the bread; cover and refrigerate overnight.

3. The next morning, remove souffle from refrigerator, and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

4. Bake, uncovered for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, and serve warm.

FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE
From Cooks.com

1 loaf (12 slices) slightly stale white bread
12 eggs
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, cubed
1-1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons cinnamon sugar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch casserole pan.Cut crust off bread and cube. Mix maple syrup, milk, vanilla and eggs. Pour over bread. Add cream cheese cubes. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour in a greased pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Serve with warm maple syrup.

Cinnamon French Toast Casserole

This makes an excellent and easy weekend brunch - preparation takes about 10 minutes. Assemble the night before and bake in the morning.

1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp maple syrup
Chopped pecans (optional)
1 loaf cinnamon bread (can use cinnamon raisin bread if desired) - Thomas' brand is good
1-8 oz. pkg cream cheese
5 eggs
1/4 cup half and half
Powdered sugar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9"x13" pan with non-stick cooking spray. Melt butter and add to the pan, along with brown sugar and 2 Tbsp of maple syrup. Mix in pan until the mixture can be spread evenly around the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with finely chopped pecans if desired.

Divide loaf of bread into halves. Cut half of the loaf into small cubes (about 1" square) and scatter over the brown sugar mixture. Cut cream cheese into cubes and scatter over the top. Top with the remaining bread cut into cubes.

Whisk eggs, half and half, and remaining 1 Tbsp of maple syrup in a bowl. Pour the egg mixture over the bread and press down gently with plastic wrap to make sure all bread is coated. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight.

Take out and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes until casserole is gently browned and well set.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm with your favorite syrup topping or fresh fruit. Serve with bacon or sausage.

Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole

1 loaf egg bread, cut into cubes (Challah bread)
8 ounces cream cheese, slightly softened
1-1/2 cups fresh blueberries, tossed lightly with 2 tablespoons flour
Cinnamon
8 large eggs
1-1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup maple syrup
6 tablespoons butter, melted


Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Layer one half of bread cubes in baking dish. Cut cream cheese into cubes and scatter over bread. Layer the coated blueberries over the cream cheese. Cover the blueberries with the remaining bread. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon. In a bowl combine the milk, maple syrup, eggs, and butter. Whisk to combine. Pour the mixture over the bread and press the mixture into the bread with a spatula. This will help the bread soak up the egg mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes.

Chocolate Overnight French Toast Puff
http://www.cdkitchen/.

Ingredients:
12 slices white bread, crusts removed
2 cups skim milk, divided
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 eggs
2 cups half and half

***Topping***

3/4 cup butter, very soft or melted
1-1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
3 tablespoons maple syrup (optional)

Instructions:

Generously grease a 9x13" baking dish that is at least 2 inches deep. Arrange trimmed bread slices on bottom of pan in 2 layers. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup milk, chocolate chips and sugar. Heat over medium heat, stirring, until chips are melted and sugar is dissolved. Do not let mixture come to a boil. Stir in vanilla. Let cool. In a large bowl, beat eggs, remaining milk and half and half. Mix chocolate mixture into egg mixture. Pour over bread slices. Cover pan tightly and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, remove from refrigerator and prepare topping.

Prepare topping:

In a medium bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, walnuts, and syrup. Spread or spoon the topping over the bread slices. Bake, uncovered, in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until center is set. If edges are browning to fast, cover with foil. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes or so until cool enough to spoon or slice. Top with syrup, if desired.

Baked French Toast Casserole with Maple Syrup
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash salt
Praline Topping, recipe follows
Maple syrup

Instructions:

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.

Praline Topping:

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.

All of these recipes sound awesome to me. I have tried the first one today for the teacher's back-to-school breakfast. The second recipe is the closest to my original tried and true recipe. I can't wait to try the blueberry version and Paula Dean's version. I think that D will like the Chocolate version best.

Please let me know if you try any of these recipes and how you like them.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

French Toast

Last night, my son and I were watching Good Eats with Alton Brown on the Food Channel. He was doing a show all about toast. He created the yummiest looking French Toast I have ever seen. After the show was over, my son and I looked at each other and decided we HAD to make that French Toast. It is similar to the French Toast I ate as a child only in the fact that it uses eggs and bread. Other than that, it is light years away from the French Toast my mom made 30 plus years ago. She always used Silvercup bread. She dipped the bread in an egg batter and frequently dipped that into breadcrumbs and fried it up for us. We would always douse it with pancake syrup and powdered sugar. I loved that French toast until I started making my own. I used whatever store-bought bread I happened to have in the house, dipped it an egg, vanilla and milk mixture. I would fry it up in my electric frying pan. My son enjoyed that type of French Toast until we tried Alton Brown's French Toast extravaganza!

One of Alton Brown's comments about authentic French Toast were that you should use high quality bread. The options he suggests are day-old country loaf, brioche or challah bread. I could only find challah bread at the grocery store. I am not sure how "high quality" it was but it did make some yummy French toast. We enjoyed it on Saturday morning with some strawberries, real maple syrup and powdered sugar.

French Toast courtesy of Alton Brown

1 cup half-and-half

3 large eggs

2 tablespoons honey, warmed in microwave for 20 seconds

1/4 tsp salt

8 (1/2 inch) slices day-old country loaf, brioche or challah bread

4 tablespoons butter

In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, eggs, honey, and salt. You may do this the night before. When ready to cook, pour custard mixture into a pie pan and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Dip bread into mixture, allow to soak for 30 seconds on each side, and then remove to a cooling rack that is sitting in a sheet pan, and allow to sit for 1 to 2 minutes.

Over medium-low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a 10-inch nonstick saute pan. Place 2 slices of bread at a time into the pan and cook until golden brown. Approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan and place on rack in oven for 5 minutes. Repeat with all 8 slices. Serve immediately with maple syrup, whipped cream or fruit.

I had to double the custard ingredients to have enough for all 8 slices of bread. My bread slices must have been gigantic. Also, I added a half teaspoon of vanilla to the custard because I love a little vanilla in my French Toast batter. Try this recipe one Saturday morning when you have time. I know you'll love it.

The Creative Cook