Monday, November 26, 2012

Baked Pumpkin French Toast Sticks

I hope everyone had a very happy Thanksgiving weekend. As much as I have to be thankful for, I must say that coming down with the mother of all head colds the evening before the holiday is probably not at the top of my list. By Thanksgiving morning I was in bad shape. Fortunately I had already prepped, cooked or baked almost everything so all I had left was to wrestle the bird out of its brine and into the oven.





Somebody was tired after eating a lot of turkey... :)
Speaking of which, this is our first year brining and it was so worth it.  This was undoubtedly the most juicy and flavorful turkey we've ever had and everyone helped themselves to seconds and thirds. OK, all I could manage was to nibble on some stuffing but my guests ate and raved and ate some more. By the evening, when everyone finally left, I collapsed into bed with no ability to deal with anything else. Brian was a love, though, and stayed up late to clean. Not just dishwasher loading, he scrubbed pots and roasting pans, cleaned tables, wrapped leftovers and generally made it hard to tell there had been a mess. I woke up on Friday morning to a clean house and nothing to do except go back to my sick bed, moan and complain.


Baked Pumpkin French Toast Sticks
By Saturday I was strong enough to come out to the living room couch with my blanket and tea so I could moan and complain out there. I really hate being sick. By Sunday, though, I figured I should lower the level of moaning and maybe make Brian the post holiday breakfast he should have had on Friday. I had bought challah bread to make him his favorite, French toast, and I was planning to put a pumpkin and cinnamon spin on it. But I would need a pan for bacon and a pan for eggs and at least two pans for the bread and it all seemed a bit much for me. So I decided to lighten my load and try something creative by cutting the bread into strips and baking the toasts in the oven instead.


Baked Pumpkin French Toast Sticks
When they were done, I sprinkled the baked French toast sticks with cinnamon, drizzled them with maple syrup and handed the plate to Brian as he was reading the paper. He happily munched away, not initially realizing what it was. But when I came back into the room, he said 'hey, these are really good.'  Enjoy!








Ingredients
4 Slices challah or other egg bread, cut into 2" wide "sticks"
1 Egg
1/2 Cup milk
2 Tablespoons unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 Teaspoon sugar
Dash of salt
Dash of cinnamon

Baked Pumpkin French Toast Sticks
In a shallow bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, pumpkin puree, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Place the bread slices in the egg mixture for a couple of minutes on each side and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, flip the slices and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Serve topped with cinnamon sugar or maple syrup, if desired. Makes 2 servings.

24 comments:

  1. I'm so sorry you were sick! Feel free to moan to me if needed. These look YUMMMMMMMMM.

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  2. So sorry to hear that you were sick! Hope you're feeling better! These french toast sticks sounds like a perfect breakfast!

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  3. Aw what a sweet hubby!! That turkey looks wonderful and so do these french toast sticks!

    I hope you're feelin better!

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  4. Aw, I'm so sorry you were sick for the holiday...ugh. What a nice breakfast you whipped up for Brian even though you were still not 100%...your French toast sticks sound wonderful!!!

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  5. Hope that you are feeling better! It's the pits to be sick on a holiday, especially, when you are hosting.

    Li love these French Toast sticks, and will try your idea soon.

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  6. Some year I have to try brining the bird. These sticks look delicious...of course, anything made of challah is bound to be delicious. I made a challah bread pudding for Thanksgiving that was to die for.

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  7. Brian wins for all time greatest guy! I don't know how but I caught your cold plus some additional evils that I won't mention here ... your French Toast sticks sound amazing even in my state of disease and despair. Thanks for another yummy recipe!

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  8. Ooooo, you got one of the good guys! I have one of those too. Aren't they great!?

    I really really want those french toast sticks. Pumpkin, french toast, the opportunity to slather with syrup and butter... I'm there!

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  9. Oh no sorry to hear you got sick, no fun. I am curious to brine our bird one year. Love these french toast sticks, they look yummy.

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  10. Sorry you were sick over Thanksgiving with a head cold - no fun NOT being able to smell the wonderful and comforting smells of our cooking holiday! I'm happy to find out I can bake french toast - I might be persuaded to make it more often now.

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  11. Sorry you weren't doing so well on Thanksgiving. Your turkey does look marvelous. I hope you were able to enjoy some leftovers this weekend.

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  12. Hope you are feeling better now! I was actually not well on Thanksgiving this year either!

    These french toast sticks are so great!

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  13. I hope you are feeling better now! That is so not fun to be sick on Thanksgiving! These look like such a fun and delicious breakfast, and such a creative way to use the challah! this is bookmarked for the next time I have some challah around :)

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  14. Thank goodness you're better now & major kudos to Brian ... This recipe looks amazing, by the way ... I recently tried a pumpkin french toast recipe that didn't go well so yours is gorgeous ... I'm so jealous :-)

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  15. Glad you are feeling better now. My husband wasn't feeling well on Thanksgiving either.
    I love French toast sticks, and with pumpkin? Yum!!

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  16. Love it....seasonal flavors and not cooked in butter/oil. It's on my list for next Saturday morning. Thanks for sharing.

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  17. These look so delicious Anita!! And healthy, your turkey looks delicious!!!

    Christy

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  18. I'm so sorry you weren't feeling well. No fun to be sick over the holiday, but your turkey looks fantastic. Love the puppy, so cute. :)

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  19. Your turkey looks beautiful! And these pumpkin French toast sticks look so delicious! Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friends Friday!

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  20. I like to use challah in bread pudding and why I have never thought of it for french toast is beyond me. What a fantastic idea. Love everything about this recipe. Thanks for sharing on Thursdays Treasures.

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  21. This a very good & unique idea l like your post. thanks to sharing this french toast recipe

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  22. Sounds like Brian is a keeper ;) I saw these sticks awhile back when you first posted them, and I haven't gotten around to comment. I love the idea of baked french toast when you have a million other things going on. One less thing to worry about!

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  23. this is a best recipe and platform for all . this recipe very testy i like it by windows 8 themes
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  24. Wooow this look really good...Nice recipe.

    Simon

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