Still looking for a Christmas breakfast idea? You might want to make this french toast. The prep is all done the day before, so that in the morning all you need to do is slice the bread and fry it.
It’s really a cranberry bread pudding that is then sliced and dipped in eggs and half&half and then fried. The recipe is adapted from the Country Living Country Morning cookbook.
Here’s what you’ll need for the bread pudding part (one bag of cranberries will be enough for both the bread and syrup):
For the bread pudding:
- Italian bread – about 3/4 of the loaf, cubed
- 1 cup cranberries, coarsely chopped
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup half & half
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 Tbs. vanilla
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
Grease a 9×5″ bread pan very well. Combine the bread cubes and cranberries and add them to the bread pan. The pan was very full. I gently pressed the bread down into the pan.
Warm the milk in the microwave. In a bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Beat in the half&half, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and cloves. Gradually add in the milk. Pour the mixture over the bread in the pan. Pour slowly, giving the liquid time to soak in a bit. Let it set for 5 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-65 minutes or until the center is set. Cool completely and then refrigerate.
Here’s what it looked like coming out of the oven:
For the syrup you’ll need:
- 2 cups cranberries
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/8 tsp. cloves
In a small saucepan, combine all the ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring until slightly thickened and the cranberries have popped. Cool the syrup and then puree it in a blender. Refrigerate until the next morning.
In the morning, slice the bread. Mix 2 eggs and 1/2 cup half&half. Dip the bread slices in the egg mixture and fry in butter, in a skillet or on a griddle. Warm the syrup in the microwave and drizzle over the french toast.
To print this, or any other recipe, click the first icon under “Share and Enjoy” at the bottom of each post.
Tiffany, you have not only the best recipes, but the best ideas! We haven’t had French toast in so long. I think I’ll make the regular stuff tomorrow after church, then add this recipe and blueberry French toast bake to future recipes. They both look so delicious! Thanks!
I have some chicas who will be home for Christmas, and they’re big French toast eaters. Think I’ll have to run this recipe by their taste buds, huh? So lovely to hear from you again, m’dear!
Oh! Thanks for this recipe! I have cranberries in my fridge that simply must be used and it’s going to be with this!!!
We made this for Christmas morning breakfast and it was a big hit. My only issue was that I didn’t have ground cloves and didn’t get the whole ones ground up well enough before tossing them into the breading mixture. That and I had trouble getting the cranberries mixed evenly throughout the bread mixture so I ended up with a bunch of tart cranberries and cloves on top of the bread. It was a little like potpourri. I just pulled some of that off and it was still delicious. Next time I’ll take more care with those two issues because otherwise it was awesome.
This looks like an interesting recipe, but several local stores sell Italian bread in very different sizes. My son is Celiac, and we make bread at home. Without some sort of weight or volume to go by, there is no way to convert this to a recipe we can use.