Cinnamon Orange Baked French Toast Muffins

I always seem to have bread which you could consider "day old" around. Do you?

Last night we had a wonderful steak dinner and I made garlic toast from French sandwich rolls.  They were the perfect accompaniment, but we didn't use them all, so today I had a lonely roll staring at me, saying "use me!"

So French toast came to mind.  But I wanted to try something I was inspired to try, muffin tin French toast.  Basically it is baked French toast, but in a muffin tin instead of a casserole dish.  The only thing I had to settle on was the flavor.  Being citrus season I decided to add the brightness of orange and the warmth of cinnamon since it's still a bit chilly in the mornings.

CINNAMON ORANGE BAKED FRENCH TOAST MUFFINS

The recipe is fast, easy, and tastes wonderful.    They are baked in the muffin tins, so there is no butter or oil (healthier).  Once you bake them in the tins, out comes these cute little things I'm calling French Toast Muffins.  They are perfect little gems.  Slightly crisp on the outside and soft and tender on the inside. 

Perfect for a weekend breakfast, or a brunch, plus the kids will love them!  The flavors of cinnamon and orange coming from the oven is enough to wake the whole family and have them come running.  When they taste them, they will be begging for more!  To keep the sugar count down I served them with a sugar-free syrup. 

With the presentation being so cute and the flavors so warm and comforting, these were definitely a hit and I'll sure you and your family will love these.  Bake up something good this weekend!

Enjoy!




Cinnamon Orange Baked French Toast Muffins

Serves - 8 cups

3 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon light brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoons orange extract
1 loaf French sandwich roll, diced into 1-inch cubes
sugar-free syrup, for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8 wells of a muffin tin with cooking spray.  Set aside. 

In a large bowl, add the eggs, milk, sugars, cinnamon, and orange extract.  Whisk to combine. 

Add the bread cubes and coat evenly.  All bread to soak up the custard about 3 minutes.  Distribute the bread cubes evenly among the muffin wells lightly piling the cubes on top of each other.  Pour any remaining custard over the cubes.  I filled each one just to the top with bread. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes or until tops are golden brown.  Custard should be set and the muffins should look dry.  Remove from the oven and allow to the tin for 5 minutes.  Remove each muffin with the help of a knife and serve with syrup.