Baked French Toast Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond Food

CINNAMON BAKED FRENCH TOAST

Steps:

• Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with butter. Tear bread into chunks (or cut into cubes) and evenly distribute in the pan.
• In a medium sized bowl, mix together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla. Pour evenly over the bread. Cover tightly and store in the fridge for several hours or overnight.
• In a separate bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add nutmeg if desired. Add butter pieces and cut them into the dry mixture until mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in a Ziploc in the fridge.
• When you're ready to bake the casserole, preheat oven to 350° F. Remove casserole from the fridge and sprinkle crumb mixture over the top. (If you're using fruit, sprinkle on before the crumb mixture.) Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture. Bake 1 hour or more for a firmer, less liquid texture.
• Scoop out individual portions. Top with butter and drizzle with maple syrup.

FRENCH TOAST WITH BERRY BUTTERS

Steps:

• For the berry butters: In separate batches, whip 2 sticks butter on high in the bowl of a stand mixer using the whisk attachment. Switch to the paddle attachment. Add the blackberries. Turn the mixer to low for only about 5 seconds, just long enough for the berries to begin to mix in and break up, but not so long that it turns into a mess. Clean the mixer bowl and attachments and repeat with the remaining 2 sticks butter and the raspberries.
• With each batch, turn the berry butter out onto a long sheet of plastic wrap set over a long sheet of foil. First seal the plastic wrap around the cylinder, and then secure the foil around it. Twist the ends, gradually applying more pressure as you twist in order to make the cylinder taut. Once it's a nice, neat cylinder of foil, place into the freezer for 30 minutes in order to quickly solidify it. Then transfer to the fridge until you're ready to use. The butter should be very firm.
• For the French toast: Cut the bread into slices 1/2-inch thick. In a dish, whisk the egg yolks with the half-and-half, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest. Dip the bread slices in the egg mixture, coating both sides. Then remove from the dish and set aside. Repeat until all the bread is coated.
• Heat a cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium heat. Sizzle some butter in the skillet when hot. Cook the French toast on both sides until golden brown, being careful not to burn. Remove the berry butters from the fridge. Unwrap one end and cut some slices. Lay one slice onto each serving of French toast. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired, and then drizzle with maple syrup.

BAKED FRENCH TOAST PIONEER WOMAN / REE DRUMMOND

Steps:

• For the French toast: Grease the baking pan with butter. Tear the bread into chunks, or cut into cubes, and evenly distribute in the pan. Crack the eggs in a big bowl. Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Pour evenly over the bread. Cover the pan tightly and store in the fridge until needed (overnight preferably). Or you can make it and bake it right away---delicious no matter what!
• For the topping: Mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and some nutmeg in a separate bowl. Stir together using a fork. Add the butter and with a pastry cutter, and mix it all together until the mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in a plastic bag in the fridge.
• When you're ready to bake the casserole, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the casserole from the fridge and sprinkle the topping over the top. Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture or for 1 hour-plus or more for a firmer, crisper texture.
• Scoop out individual portions. Top with butter and drizzle with warm pancake syrup and sprinkle with blueberries.

CRUNCHY FRENCH TOAST STICKS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425˚ F. Crack the eggs into a pie plate. Add the half-and-half, vanilla, 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Whisk lightly until combined; set aside.
• In a separate pie plate, stir together the panko, crushed cereal and remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Use a fork to stir in the melted butter so that the crumbs are slightly moist.
• One by one, quickly dunk the bread strips in the egg mixture, turning to coat. Then lay them in the dish with the crumb mixture, turning to coat; sprinkle and press the crumbs so they totally cover the bread. Place the bread strips on a rack set on a baking sheet.
• Bake the French toast sticks until golden around the edges and the crumbs are crisp, 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and serve with maple syrup.

CINNAMON BAKED FRENCH TOAST

Steps:

• For the French toast: Grease the baking pan with butter. Tear the bread into chunks, or cut into cubes, and evenly distribute in the pan. Crack the eggs in a big bowl. Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Pour evenly over the bread. Cover the pan tightly and store in the fridge until needed (overnight preferably).
• For the topping: Mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and some nutmeg in a separate bowl. Stir together using a fork. Add the butter and with a pastry cutter, and mix it all together until the mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in a re-sealable plastic bag in the fridge.
• When you're ready to bake the casserole, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the casserole from the fridge and sprinkle the topping over the top. Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture or for 1 hour or more for a firmer, crisper texture.
• Scoop out individual portions. Top with butter and drizzle with warm pancake syrup and sprinkle with blueberries.

FRENCH TOAST ROLL-UPS

Steps:

• Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the cream, maple syrup, vanilla and eggs until well combined. Set aside.
• With a rolling pin, flatten 1 slice of bread. Brush with the melted butter, then sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the cinnamon sugar. Spoon a line of pie filling along one of the short sides of the flattened bread. Starting with the pie filling side, roll the bread tightly, enclosing the filling in the middle. Set aside seam-side down and repeat with the remaining bread slices, butter, cinnamon sugar and pie filling.
• Heat 4 tablespoons butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
• Dip each French toast roll into the egg mixture, making sure to completely cover, then add to the skillet. Cook until browned on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes total.
• Remove to a plate and dust with confectioners' sugar. Serve warm with extra syrup on the side for dipping.

THE BREAD (REE DRUMMOND/ PIONEER WOMAN)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Spread one stick of softened butter on each half of the loaf (That's one stick per half loaf. Yes, you read that right. The idea here is that every speck of the surface of the bread needs to be coated.).
• Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes, or until butter is melted and starting to soak into the bread.
• Crank on broiler and broil bread for 3 to 5 minutes, watching the whole time. Remove when butter has started to brown and blacken. Don't under-broil it! The flavor really kicks in when the butter's color changes (The goal here is to broil the bread to the point that the butter becomes very dark brown and, in just a few areas, begins to burn. When that happens, the flavor shows up. If you don't take it to the next level, it will just be buttered, warm bread. Which is fine, and all...but it's not The Bread).
• Slice into strips and serve immediately (When I serve this, I slice it on a cutting board into relatively thin (because it's so rich) strips).