The Pioneer Womans Crunchy French Toast Sticks Recipes

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.

CRUNCHY FRENCH TOAST STICKS

Steps:

• Crack the eggs into a pie plate. Add the half-and-half, vanilla, 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon. Whisk lightly until combined; set aside.
• In a separate pie plate, stir together the panko breadcrumbs, 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. Crack up at the madness that is in this dish, then set it aside.
• 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 them over, sprinkling and pressing so the crumbs totally cover the surface. Place the sticks on a rack set in a baking sheet. Flash-freeze for 30 minutes to set the surface.
• Transfer the sticks to zipper bags for storage in the freezer. I do smaller bags of 6 to 8 sticks each, but you can do larger batches if you prefer!
• To bake them from frozen state, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a pan with frozen sticks and bake until golden brown around the edges, 15 to 18 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with warm pancake syrup for dipping and fruit to make you feel good about life!

BUTTER PECAN FRENCH TOAST

Steps:

• Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat and melt 2 tablespoons of the butter.
• In a large bowl, combine the milk, eggs, 1/4 cup of the brown sugar, the cinnamon, and vanilla. Whisk together until everything's combined and smooth.
• One by one, dunk the slices of bread into the egg mixture and place them on the buttery skillet.
• Fit as many slices in the skillet as you can, cooking them until golden on the first side, about 2 1/2 minutes. Flip to cook them on the other side for about 2 minutes. Remove them to a plate. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter to the skillet and repeat with the rest of the bread slices until they're all cooked.
• To the same skillet, add the remaining 4 tablespoons butter, the remaining 1 cup of brown sugar, and the salt. Stir and cook over medium heat until the butter and sugar are melted and bubbling, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat completely, pour in the bourbon and stir, allowing the fumes to dissipate for about 1 minute. Turn the stove on medium heat and continue to stir and cook for another minute, or until the mixture is starting to thicken. Add the pecans, stir to combine. Keep cooking the sauce, stirring constantly, until the mixture is deep golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Be careful not to cook it too long as it will become chewy, you want a nice caramelly sauce. Turn off the heat.
• Serve two pieces of French toast with a little butter. Sift over some powdered sugar.
• Spoon on a generous amount of the sauce then top with whipped cream and a sprinkling of cinnamon.