Hands-on Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes (plus overnight chilling)
Serves: 12
This cross between French toast and bread pudding is a treat worthy of a special occasion, yet it's so easy to make kids can do many of the steps themselves: slicing the bread, chopping the nuts, whisking the eggs, and more. As a bonus, it can be assembled the night before, so there's no morning scramble or cleanup.
Ingredients
- challah* or other firm white bread
- 1/3 cup pecans or walnuts
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon or to taste
- 8 large eggs
- 1 3/4 cups milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- maple syrup, for serving
Instructions
1. Using a piece of waxed paper, generously grease a 13- by 9-inch glass baking dish with softened butter.
2. Slice the challah into 12 (1-inch-thick) slices, then cut each slice into 1-inch cubes.
3. Chop the nuts using a knife or a food chopper.
4. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped pecans or walnuts.
5. Arrange half the bread in a single layer in the prepared dish, then sprinkle half the sugar mixture evenly over the top. Add a second layer with the remaining bread and the sugar mixture.
6. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs. Add the milk and vanilla extract, whisking until well blended.
7. Starting from the sides of the dish and working toward the center, pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread. With a spatula, gently press down on the bread to coat it with the egg mixture. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight or at least 4 hours.
8. Heat the oven to 350°. Bake the casserole covered for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and continue baking until the casserole turns a light golden brown and looks slightly puffed, about 30 minutes more. Serve the casserole warm with maple syrup.*
Tips:
* We prefer light, airy challah because it absorbs more of the egg mixture. As a result, the baked casserole stays moist inside after the outside is golden brown.
* To preserve the quality of maple syrup, the Ohio State University Extension recommends refrigerating bottles even before they're opened. And considering it takes about 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup, it makes sense to keep it at its best!
Nutritional Information:
Per serving (1/12 of recipe) Calories 259, Total Fat 9 g (13%), Saturated Fat 3 g (15%), Cholesterol 149 mg (50%), Sodium 151 mg (6%), Total Carbohydrate 38 g (13%), Fiber 2 g (7%), Sugars 21 g, Protein 9 g (18%)
Food , Recipes
