I’ve been a big fan of this classic Yuletide Breakfast treat all my adult life. I just didn’t know until recently how many folks have never had the pleasure. SO… just in time fore this Christmas morning, I’m presenting the whole banana about Egg Nog French Toast
I first had this gloriuous take on the eggy classic when I was in my early 20’s, spending Christmas with a boy-friend’s family. (I was working too far from home to travel for the holiday). On Christmas morning his mom said, “C’mon! I need you to help me make the French Toast!” I thought, “She needs help to make French Toast?” I’m pretty sure my eye-balls bugged out moment-arily… “What kind of family am I in danger of marry-ing into?”
But I was wrong
When we were alone in the kitchen, she confided she wanted to share her family recipe for Egg Nog French Toast with me, in case she and ‘Dad’ ever came to ‘our’ place for Christmas. Yikes!
And thus was I initiated into an exclus-ive cult surrounding an absolutely di-vine treat…
You can keep your breakfast bakes
… And your bagels, cream cheese and smoked salmon.
To paraphrase the key lyric of the the 1948 Spike Jones hyper-hit, All I want for Christmas Is My two Front Teeth, all I want is my Egg Nog French Toast!
Here’s the closest recipe I could find to mine… Why not just share mine? This one may be even better! It’s certainly simpler and easier – though it does use a couple of more ingredients, both of which make a big contribution. And I’m going to make it tomorrow. As well, the post is chock full of useful tips. (Hint: ‘The bread makes all the difference!’)
Simple to its core
It’s a simple thing… But proper preparation elevates it to ‘ambrosial‘ level!
All you need is:
- Country-style Bread
- Egg Nog
- Eggs
- Rum, and
- Butter (for frying)
Plus:
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg, and
- Vanilla
And:
- Maple Syrup, and
- Whipped Cream (for serving)
Some observations
You can substitute Rum Extract for the real-deal booze, if you don’t drink. I sometimes use a couple of drops of (super-concentrated) Almond Extract.
About the bread… I wholly endorse the author’s recommendation that you use either store-baked French Loaf or ‘Texas Toast’ Loaf. The thicker the bread, the better the result. Ie.- the better the chance you’ll achieve an ideal crispy, golden exterior, and a chewy, eggy interior!
DO use butter for frying and keep the temperature low, both for the eggs and the bread. Medium is hot enough. And keep flipping the slices to make sure they don’t sneak past the classic ‘golden brown’ stage.
My take
Okay… I do have one more suggestion you can try – but I give no guarantees. I’ve never done this, but more than one of the recipes I précised for this post did say you could ditch the butter and, in-stead, brush a sheet of parchment paper with flavourless cooking oil (like Canola) in a sheet pan, lay the egg-dunked bread slices out in a single layer (not touching), and bake in a pre-heated 375 F oven until done (10-15 minutes?). Flip the slices half way through. Test with a toothpick.
And, yes! You can garnish with fresh fruit, or whatever you like. Though I personally feel this amazing dish doesn’t need anything extra…
~ Maggie J.