I love breakfast, except at breakfast. You know what I mean by that? All the great sweet type foods are just too much for me to handle in the morning but, any other time of day, and I'm onboard. Give me an egg, toast, and hash browns to start the day off but make sure you save some of those pastries, pancakes slathered in syrup, and other sweet offerings for later when my stomach is ready to chow down.
I made these french toast sticks for dinner a few nights ago. See, that's the great thing about breakfast in the evening. When you really don't have anything in the house and you're unmotivated (too lazy) to do a grocery store run, you can almost always count on there being milk, eggs, and bread in the house. Lucky for me, Martin loves breakfast for dinner as much as I do so he probably doesn't even fully understand his dinner is the result of me scrounging around the kitchen for the easiest possible food.
Truthfully, Martin likes french toast more than I do. A lot of recipes I've tried at home seem to turn out soggy and unappetizing. Why settle for an egged up soggy, gloppy piece of bread when you can whip up a waffles or pancakes just as easily?? Baking this version of french toast gives a firmed-up-easy-to-hold little stick just ready to dip in syrup....for dinner.
Baked French Toast Sticks
Recipe courtesy of cookingclassy.com
2 T. granulated sugar
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 cup whole milk
4 large eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
8 slices Texas Toast bread (I used an artisan brioche loaf)
2 T. butter, melted, plus more for serving if desired
maple syrup, for serving
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, whisk together sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, vigorously whisk together milk, eggs, vanilla, and salt until very well blended.
Cut each slice of bread into three even strips (you can layer a few slices to cut several at a time).
Dip each portion into the egg mixture, then lift and let excess run off.
Transfer to the prepared backing sheet. They will have to be close together but leave a little bit of space between them.
Using a basting brush, brush tops of french toast sticks lightly with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter.
Sprinkle tops evenly with half of the cinnamon sugar mixture
Bake in preheated oven for 13 minutes
Remove from oven, flip french toast sticks to opposite side and brush tops lightly with remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter and sprinkle evenly with the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture
Return to oven and continue to bake until cooked through, about 13-18 minutes longer.
Let cool a few minutes. Brush lightly with a little more melted butter if desired and serve warm with maple syrup for dipping.
