There are three things I love in this world: Jesus, my family, and breakfast. Sometimes, when I’m insanely hungry, the list comes in no particular order.
The Molitor kiddos were incredibly spoiled growing up, because our mom would regularly make breakfast for us in the morning. One item that quickly became a favorite was French Toast. I would watch carefully as my mom would effortlessly measure out the flour, add a splash of milk, crack the eggs and whip up the most amazing breakfast for us. While waffles and homemade whipped cream and freshly picked strawberries will always be my top go to breakfast food, French toast has a special place within my heart…and by heart I mean stomach.
It’s a simple recipe. Eggs, flour, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and bread. It’s how I grew up eating it and eventually how I started making it myself. It’s a hearty breakfast dish and a tasty one at that, so I figured why not share it with you guys?
But I couldn’t just give you plain old French Toast. No, it simply would not do. After all, it is a hometown harvest. It’s the fall season. Pumpkin and spice are everywhere. So what better way to incorporate my love of fall and breakfast into one thing than with Pumpkin French Toast?
To be honest, I didn’t now if it would work. I’d never tried it before. It was just an idea. A thought I had one day while making breakfast in my apartment. Can you add pumpkin puree to the batter and have it come out not too thick and oozing with the flavor of a big orange gourde? The best and only way to finding that answer was trial and error.
I had my loaf of French bread and my cans of puree and I just went to town. More pumpkin, less pumpkin. With that I had to adjust my milk content to thin it out or use less to make sure it wasn’t too thin. I’m telling you, it was a process. But after several attempts under my belt, and taste testing all of them (I know, I know…tough gig) I finally had it! The right amount of pumpkin with the exact amount of cinnamon to make the perfect batch of pumpkin French Toast. Then you add a bit of maple syrup on top with some toasted walnuts and oh my!
And guys, I’m like so excited for you to try it. Cause I realize, it sounds a bit crazy. Before I made this I thought pumpkin was strictly reserved for pie. Honest truth. But, I promise you that once you try this you will love it! And if you don’t, I’m sorry. I promise to make you something different next time.
You have to try it though, just once. And when you do, let me know.
So here is my somewhat famous, newly invented in Jeni’s kitchen: Pumpkin French Toast.
What you’ll need is:
· 2 eggs
· About 1/3 cup of flour
· 1/3 cup of pumpkin puree
· 1/2 cup of milk
· Good amount of cinnamon.
· Cap full of vanilla
· Walnuts
· Bread- French loaf, hearty wheat, white, anything works!
First things first, we have got to toast the walnuts. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and toast 1/2 cup of walnuts with cinnamon in oven for 7-8 minutes. Once those are done, set aside. **Walnuts can be toasted before hand.
Crack your 2 eggs into a shallow pie dish (A bowl would work too if no pie plate is available) and whisk until mixed together. Add about 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour and combine until a thick paste is created. Then take your 1/3-cup of pumpkin puree and add to flour/egg mixture. Stir until combined. This will be thick and resemble paste. Trust the process, it will get more appetizing. To thin, add ½ cup of milk until the mixture becomes liquid-like. (Depending on how clean your measurements were, you may need more milk or less. We just want to make sure the batter is thin enough to stick to your bread.) Final touches-sprinkle cinnamon until batter is lightly, but fully dusted and pour in a cap of pure vanilla extract. Stir until everything is combined. Now you are ready to dunk!
Turn your stove on to medium/medium high and place a flat pan to heat up. Pour a little oil into the pan (coconut, canola, veggie, anything like will work) and wait till it heats up.
Take a slice of your bread and lay flat in your French toast mixture. Dunk both sides until nicely coated. Place onto heated pan. Repeat. Cook for several minutes on both sides. You bread should have a nice golden brown color before you taken it out…and then there you have it...perfect pumpkin French Toast!
But, wait, hold up. Our breakfast wouldn’t be complete without our walnuts! So once you plate your FT, sprinkle your toasted walnuts on top and then cover with syrup. I am a huge advocate for pure maple syrup, but I also know how delicious the syrup they serve up at pancake houses can be, so slather it on there, whatever kind you choose. And now, the only thing left to do is eat! Enjoy everyone!!
