Saturday has finally arrived! The week’s done, exams are over and all you want to do is sleep in and just binge-watch Parks and Recreation for the day. I’m not a morning person, so sleeping in on the weekends is the norm for me. Honestly, the only thing that can get me out of bed is the smell of food wafting from the kitchen. This could be anything from the amazing meat-candy that is bacon or maybe a stack of pancakes soaked in maple syrup. In a perfect world I would be waking up and smelling both every single day.
Photo courtesy of thefbomb.org
This recipe for French toast isn’t a typical breakfast that you’d find at a diner. This is something you wish you had as kid. It combines three of my childhood favorites – French toast, PB&J sandwiches, and French Toast Crunch. Everyone’s had French toast and PB&J sandwiches. For those of you who remember French Toast Crunch, rejoice because it’s finally made its way back to grocery store shelves. Alone, each of these things are amazing and will satisfy your sweet tooth, but when all three come together in a perfect union it’s something that would make even Leslie Knope forget about her beloved waffles from JJ’s Diner.
So treat yo’self. No one wants to eat oatmeal for breakfast. You’re going to want to get out of bed and eat these instead.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
6 slices thick-cut white bread (tip: use brioche bread if possible, it’s rich and dense allowing for the custard to easily saturate the bread)
Peanut butter
Jelly
2 cups of heavy cream
2 eggs
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups ground French Toast Crunch (tip: use any sweet cereal you want, you can even substitute with nuts or granola)
Unsalted butter
Powdered sugar and/or whipped cream
Photo by Alex Vu
Directions:
1. Make PB&J sandwiches using the bread, peanut butter and jelly. I’m hoping you can do this no problem – you’ve probably made a bunch while in college. If you need some chocolate that day, may I suggest making peanut butter and Nutella sandwiches instead. If you actually need fruit in your diet, you could also make strawberry and Nutella sandwiches. Honestly, this step is where you can be creative about what you want to stuff into your French toast.
Photo by Alex Vu
2. Prepare your custard base by combining the heavy cream, eggs, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon and sugar. Whisk until it has become a homogenous mixture.
Kinda looks like an abstract piece of art. |Photo by Alex Vu
3. Get your dredging station ready. You’re going to want to prepare your ground French Toast Crunch by using a food processor. If you don’t have a food processor handy, use a plastic ziplock bag and any heavy object – you’ve probably got a textbook lying around somewhere. Fill the bag with the cereal and begin to crush using your textbook. Set up your cooking area so that it looks like the picture below so that you’re organized.
Photo by Alex Vu
4. Take each PB&J sandwich and allow it to soak up the custard base. From there move it into the ground cereal mixture making sure to coat it thoroughly on both sides.
Photo by Alex Vu
5. Turn your stove onto medium-high heat and melt some butter in the pan – don’t be shy with the butter, butter makes everything better. Place the prepared sandwiches into the pan. I like to do this one-by-one just because I can pay careful attention to each one. Nothing’s getting burned in my kitchen.
Photo by Alex Vu
6. Allow the sandwich to crisp up to a golden-brown for about a minute or two on each side in the pan.
Photo by Alex Vu
7. Allow the French toast to finish in the oven for about 5 minutes at 350° F. This will keep them warm until they are ready to serve.
Photo by Alex Vu
8. If you have it on hand, add a dollop of whipped cream and sprinkle some powdered sugar over the top.
Photo by Alex Vu
That’s it folks. So next time you want a decadent breakfast, treat yo’self to the French toast that will have those childhood memories rushing back to you. Leslie Knope may even be willing to set aside her favorite waffles to have a bite of this deliciousness.
The mark of any good breakfast is that it will make you want to go back to bed and take a nap. So before you actually start your day make sure to grab some added minutes of Zz’s.
Just in case you needed more breakfast in your life: