Crisp Cereal French Toast Fingers

  

French Toast was not something my mother ever made for us when I was growing up. It was something I had only ever hear of second hand. I can remember a friend at school telling me about her mom making fluffy French Toast and speaking of how very delicious it was.

It sounded like something quite exotic to me. I remember her taking me to her home one Friday for lunch.  Her mother had made classic French Toast and that was my first experience with it. I fell in love and have been in love with it ever since! 

 

I don't think I ever had it again until I was all grown up and made it for my own children. You cannot beat a good basic French Toast Recipe.  Developed by the French, it is a very delicious way to use up stale bread. 

Several years ago I made some French Toast Sticks using crisp rice cereal and they were fabulous. These were a real favourite of ours.  They were delicious and they froze well, so that made them great for having in the freezer ready to pull out when we felt like a bit of a quick and delicious treat, or for a fab breakfast on the go.

 

Actually you can use any kind of crisp breakfast cereal to coat them. Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Captain Crunch, etc. If it is crisp and be crushed it is perfect for this use.

Using cereal like this to coat the French Toast Sticks also has the added appeal of being a tad bit naughty. Today I used some Cookie Crisp Cereal. 

 

I have never eaten this as a cereal actually.  Its probably a tad bit tastier used as this. I have never been one to enjoy any kind of chocolate in my cereal.  I am not a huge fan of chocolate milk and I strongly suspect this would turn th milk to chocolate  milk.

I could eat it as a coating for my French Toast however, quite happily!

 

I never made French Toast for my children for lunch or supper. It was only ever done for breakfast and usually at the weekend or for special occasions such as birthdays or Valentines day  Days like today! 

It was always very enthusiastically received.  A real treat! You cannot beat a plate of fluffy french toast served with maple syrup and some breakfast sausage on the side. Until now! 

 

This version is baked and not fried.  You will need a loaf of unsliced sturdy bread.  A loaf of French bread or sour dough would be perfect.

You will need to remove the crusts and then cut it into thick batons/sticks. I like to make them about 1-inch square in thickness.

 

You want it stale and not fresh.  Stale bread absorbs the egg custard better.  Now that I think about it, French toast is quite similar to bread pudding, another genius way to use up stake bread and cake. 

This version is even better because it is the perfect shape for dipping into things you like, but I am getting ahead of myself here. Sorry about that!

 

You will need a quantity of crisp breakfast cereal that you crush.  This is to roll the soaked bread sticks in, coating them completely. Top, bottom,side, and end edges.

Once you have them coated they are placed onto a non-stick baking sheet. A drizzle of butter over top they are then baked until crisp and delicious.  Ready for drizzling or dipping.

 

I am a drizzler myself, but I know children love to dip things.  They adore veggie sticks and dips. Apple wedges and caramel sauce, etc.  And they will love dipping these. 

 

You can simply accompany them with a small pot of syrup for dipping in, or caramel, or if you are wanting to be really healthy, unsweetened applesauce.

 

Me, I just dust with icing sugar to pretty them up and then I drizzle mine with pure maple syrup. You don't need a lot of syrup really because the cereal coating is already kind of sweet.  So just a tiny drizzle.

I also like to enjoy fruit with mine, rather than sausage (but that would be good also!). Today it was raspberries and blueberries.  We have some really nice ones here from Mexico at the moment.

 

You could also serve them with peaches and raspberries, or really any kind of fruit that you enjoy. Strawberries would be nice as well. 

Of course this breakfast is somewhat high in sugar by the time you add syrup, but really, if you serve it with lots of fresh fruit, you won't need a lot of syrup at all.

 This is not meant to be a regular breakfast, but a bit of a treat, perhaps at the odd weekend now and again, like maybe when you have the grand-kids overnight! (Oh how I hope and pray that it is not long before we able to do that!) 

You could make them a bit healthier by using whole wheat bread, make sure you pick a sturdy thick one, and that you pick whole wheat, not brown.  Did you know that brown bread is really only just white bread which has been dyed brown???  

In any case, this is meant to be a once in a blue moon treat, weekend breakfast that the whole family will enjoy.
 

Crisp Cereal French Toast Fingers

Yield: Makes 16 to 20 fingers

Author: Marie Rayner

prep time: 10 Mincook time: 20 Mintotal time: 30 Min

These tasty French toast fingers are crispy on the outside and custardy soft on the insides. Perfect for dipping into your favourite syrup. They also freeze really well, ready to grab for a breakfast on the go. You can use whatever crisp breakfast cereal you enjoy to coat the outsides. Baked and not fried.

Ingredients

• 4 to 5 thick slices of day old bread, crusts removed
• 3 cups (63g) of crisp breakfast cereal, crushed
• 1 TBS soft light brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 large free range eggs, beaten
• 1 cup (240ml)of whole milk
• 4 TBS butter, melted

Suggested accompaniments for serving:

• Your favourite syrup
• fresh fruit or berries
• applesauce

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/gas mark 5. Have ready a large non-stick baking tray.
2. Cut each slice of the bread into 4 evenly sized strips. Combine the crushed cereal, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. ( I like to trim the crusts away first and save them for the birds.)
3. In another bowl, beat together the eggs, milk and vanilla. Dip each bread stick into the beaten egg, turning to coat it well and allowing it to absorb some of the mixture without them becoming soggy.
4. Drop the egg soaked bread into the cereal mixture and coat well on all sides. Don't forget the ends!
5. Place an inch apart on the baking sheet. Drizzle the melted butter over top. Bake in the heated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until set and golden brown. Serve warm with your preferred syrup for dipping or drizzling and a mix of fresh fruit/berries.
6. Apple sauce is also nice to dip them in, rather than syrup.

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