Christmas-Morning French Toast Casserole

By á-20067

Prepare this French toast the night before Christmas and bake it in the morning. The warm aroma will fill your home when you bake this delicious brunch, making easy work of getting everyone out of bed.

Ingredients

• FRENCH TOAST:
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 loaf French bread, cut into 18-20 1'' thick slices
• 8 large eggs
• 2 cups eggnog
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Pinch kosher salt
• TOPPING:
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup whole red and green maraschino cherries
• Maple syrup

Details

Servings 10
Preparation time 15mins
Cooking time 45mins
Adapted from qvc.com

Preparation

Step 1

To make the French toast, grease a 9 x 13''-inch baking dish with the butter. Arrange the bread slices in the baking dish in two overlapping rows.

Whisk together the eggs, eggnog, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread slices, making sure the bread is well covered. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the baking dish from the refrigerator.

To make the topping, whisk together the butter, brown sugar, pecans, corn syrup, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the bread.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove the casserole from the oven and decorate with the maraschino cherries in clusters of three to look like holly berries. Serve with maple syrup.