Wondering how to make French Toast? I wish I could say the first time I remember having French Toast was at a sidewalk café in Paris while wearing a beret and parler Français. But instead, it was at Sunday breakfast at Friendly’s in my hometown in Massachusetts.
I was around 4 or 5 years old and had grown tired of pancakes in my “old age.” It was time to switch it up and get a little adventurous with my breakfast order. But since my palate wasn’t as sophisticated as it is now, I wasn’t ready to try anything like Eggs Benedict or a Greek Omelette.
I remember thinking that eating something that delicious must be a sin – which was ironic because I’d just come from church. The combination of cinnamon and sugar, the thick bread smothered in butter, swimming in a pool of maple syrup, life just doesn’t get much better than that.
But it goes far beyond the taste. French toast can make you feel fancy. After all, anything with the word “French” in it can be so luxurious, like French-milled soap or French linen. Seriously, try Googling “French (fill-in-the-blank)”, and whatever product your searching for it will automatically feel more refined and exclusive.
This is not your average toast
One of the things I love most about French Toast is how you can personalize it depending on your taste or mood. You can use almost any kind of bread and stuff it with anything you can think of. I love to use brioche bread or a loaf of rich challah bread. But you can also use cinnamon swirl bread, cranberry walnut bread, even banana bread!
Then to kick it up a notch, you can stuff it with cream cheese and strawberries or Nutella. If you want to get really fancy, heat some rum, sugar, butter, orange juice, and bananas in a skillet and pour it over your bread to make a Bananas Foster French Toast. The possibilities are truly endless.
But let’s start with the basics. Here is how you make the perfect French Toast:
Ingredients (Makes 4 Servings)
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1/2 cup milk
- 8 slices bread
Directions:
- Beat eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon in a shallow dish stir in the milk.
- Bathe the bread slices in the egg mixture, let it soak in thoroughly, and then flip the bread over to the other side.
- In a greased nonstick griddle or skillet, cook the bread on medium heat until it is browned on both sides.
Then you can add all the fancy ingredients you want, or you can just drown it in real maple syrup. But don’t even think about using that fake stuff.
That Friendly’s where I first remember falling in love with French Toast is long gone, replaced by yet another bank. But every time I drive by I think about those weekly Sunday breakfasts with my family, feeling so grown up eating my French Toast.
Written By Kate Andrews (@fashionablykateandco)