Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Pumpkin French Toast for Thanksgiving Morning

From Daryl aka Avery

THE SPICES OF LIFE

There’s something about the holiday season that just brings out the yum factor. I love pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread and gingerbread. Perhaps it’s the spices used. I adore cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Do you know how good these spices are for the body?

It’s been found that half a teaspoon of cinnamon a day significantly reduces blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. It also reduces triglyceride, LDL cholesterol, and total cholesterol levels among this group. It can also relieve pain in joints and muscles.

Nutmeg can help you sleep. It can help ease anxiety and calm muscle spasms.

Ginger is good for calming the intestinal tract and also has anti-inflammatory properties.

Calm, calm, calm. See the trend?

So during the holidays, stay calm by dosing up on fun foods (that we don’t seem to cook the rest of the year) and savor the spices that might just enhance your life.

For today’s share: Pumpkin French Toast.  I found this recipe in a magazine. I honestly can’t remember which one. Do you keep all your recipe magazines or do you snip and clip like I do? Oops. So I don’t know to which to attribute it. Sorry, folks. Probably Food Network.

Now, this French toast is baked. Baked, you say? Yes. The great thing is it can be made the night before and cooked the next morning. How easy is that? It taste like pumpkin pie with maple syrup.  Note: I made it with gluten-free bread (for me), but it can be made with regular bread. The only thing that changes in the recipe in either regard is the bread choice. How cool is that?


Enjoy!
Pumpkin French Toast 
(easy bake;
regular or gluten-free)


Ingredients:

(serves 4)

8 slices bread (use gluten-free if needed * the rest of the recipe is gluten-free)

Cream Cheese filling:
3-5 tablespoons cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt

Pumpkin Mixture:
2 eggs
1/2 cup half and half
3 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons butter

whipped cream for topping


Directions:

Grease an 8 x 8 pan.

Beat cream cheese with sugar, vanilla, and salt. 



Set 4 of the bread slices into the 8 x 8 pan. [They will be squished. It’s okay.] Tops each slice with 1/4 of the cream cheese filling and sprea dit out.  Top with another slice of bread.



Make the pumpkin mixture by beating the eggs. Add the half and half, sugar, spices, and pumpkin puree. Mix well. Pour the mixture over the bread in the 8 x 8 pan.



Top each quarter with a half tablespoon of butter.

Cover with saran or foil and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, turn the oven on to 400 degrees F. Remove the saran or foil and bake the French toast for 25-30 minutes.




Cut into quarters. Serve with warm maple syrup and whipped cream.  (Note: the whipped cream will melt quickly!)



For those who are curious, here's an update of Sparky. 2 weeks in our household and we are definitely "owned."
Getting longer by the day!

******************


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20 comments:

  1. I'm not normally a fan of stuffed French toast, but this looks absolutely delicious, and I love all of those same spices. This recipe is so easy I'm going to have to try it. Your puppy is adorable, by the way, but I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cee, thanks! it really is delish! And yes, Sparky is adorable. Lots of puppy workouts. But adorable.

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  2. That looks wonderful Daryl--and best of all, you can make it the night before:). I agree with Cee, Sparky takes the prize!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Diet food, too. Oh, it isn't? Well, who cares. It looks scrumptious!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm a huge fan of pumpkin, but I've never tried it in French toast. Fabulous idea, including the cream cheese stuffing! Thanks for sharing, Daryl/Avery, and...

    Happy Thanksgiving to you, your family, and
    the new, adorable furry member of the family, too!

    ~ Cleo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, Cleo, I'm starting to get into my "cheese" mode again, trying all sorts of recipes with cheese as I near the launch of my next cheese-y book. :)

      Happy T day to you, too!
      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  5. That Sparky is a heart stealer, that's for sure! I usually do one of those breakfast casserole things for Christmas-- make it the night before and it bakes while we open Christmas presents. This looks like a wonderful way to switch it up this year. Might have to do it twice--once for Thanksgiving and once for Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Peg, I think I've got another casserole that's apples and such that works great for Christmas. Hmm. Going through my recipes now.

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  6. I love baked french toast you can put together the night before! I make one using torn up croissants and chocolate chips that is to die for (though I try not to make it too often). It's great when we have out of town guests or people coming over for brunch since I can throw it in the oven and then mingle. This year I'm making pumpkin challah for Thanksgivingukkah :) and use the second loaf to make french toast post Thanksgiving. I'll let you know how it turns out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pumpkin Challah. That sounds fascinating! Yes, Thanksgivingukkah. It's going to be a little confusing for many.

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  7. This is a great idea! We have a Thanksgiving breakfast with my sister every year, and I think this recipe will be a big hit.

    Thank you, Daryl!

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a super recipe, Daryl/Avery! I think it would be great for weekend brunches in the fall too as well as being perfect for Thanksgiving morning.

    Thanks for this.

    XOXO

    MJ

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a fabulous recipe, Daryl. I love these make-ahead breakfasts that I can just pop into the oven in the morning. They're just the best! And Sparky is still just adorable!

    ~Krista

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aw, thanks. Sparky is a handful. I had no memory of how hard it was to train a puppy! One day at a time right now. (feeling like a bad pet mommy whenever I say "no!")

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  10. I love french toast -- and adding pumpkin sounds delicious! =)
    Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete