Overnight Cream Cheese & Cinnamon French Toast ~ Taco Tuesday

I am not a breakfast person.  I eat it, but it usually consists of some kind of protein shake or bar.  Breakfast is usually reserved for vacations.  My poor kiddo's are deprived as well.  Rarely do they enjoy anything other then cereal and fruit.  Maybe an occasional pancake or two.  That is until I discovered Overnight French Toast.  The ultimate make-it & forget-it meal that you prepare in the evening, stash in the fridge and then pop in an oven in the morning.  My kiddo's love me a little bit more now.

I adapted this recipe from Nikki over at Chef in Training and have made her Blueberry Overnight French Toast recipe many times.  And it is delicious!  I even have it Pin'd in my Cooked It = Rotation Pinterest Board.  But I'm also not an egg person.  I know, it's not all about me.  But if I'm cooking something, especially breakfast, I want to be able to eat it!  So I changed the egg ingredient a tad, changed up the flavor of the Texas Toast, a pinch of this & that....yummy yummy!  Ok, let's get to it already!

Instead of your typical bread opt for a Cinnamon Swirl Texas Toast variety.  The thicker bread really does make a HUGE difference.  Now cube up 12 pieces of your cinnamon bread.

Next comes my favorite part.  The cream cheese part.  I usually use Neufchatel Cheese because it's a 1/3 the fat of cream cheese, but either one will work just great.  Use a whole box, or 8 ounces, and cube that up too.

Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan and put in half (6 slices) of your bread and drop in the cubes of cheese.  

Grab a bowl and mix together your eggs, egg whites, milk, maple syrup, oil, cinnamon and vanilla extract.  I find it easier to incorporate everything by slightly breaking up the egg yolks before mixing it all together.

Set your bowl aside and fill up your pan with the rest of the bread cubes.

Almost done!  Not too hard right?  And virtually no mess!  Ok, poor the egg mixture over your bread and cream cheese.  Poor it all over.  Smells cinnamony...

Now don't freak out when you notice that all the egg mixture has now sunk to the bottom of your pan.  I was worried I'd have a layer of eggs at the bottom of my pan and the bread on top would be hard.  That won't happen.  Trust me.  Resist the urge to mix it all together.  We don't want to break up our yummy hunks of bread.

Remember the name of this delicious dish?  Overnight French Toast?  You see something magical happens while it sleeps in your fridge.  Again.  Resist the urge to stir.  Now that you're calm cover it up with foil and place it in your fridge.  I've let it sit in there overnight to chill for around 8-9 hours.  I have also made this dish in the late morning for a fun surprise of "It's Breakfast for Dinner kiddo's!" just so I could hear the happy cheers & giggles.  When I've made it this way it usually only chills for about 6 hours but turns out just as good.

In the morning simply preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Then pop it in the oven with the foil still covering for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes remove the foil and then put back in the oven for a final 30 minutes.  Do check after about 25 minutes for the top layer of bread to be golden and fluffy.  I left mine in for the full 30 and it was a bit more golden-brown but yummy nonetheless!

Dish up individual servings and top with optional maple syrup or even whipped cream.  Or both!  I like to sprinkle a bit more cinnamon too.  

Overnight Cream Cheese & Cinnamon French Toast

Prep Time:  10 minutes

Cooking Time:  1 hour

Servings:  8

Ingredients:

12 slices Cinnamon Swirl Texas-style Toast, cubed & divided

8 ounces *Neufchatel Cheese, cubed 

6 eggs

6 egg whites

2 cups milk

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 Tbl. oil

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

*substitute cream cheese if desired

Directions:

Cut 12 slices of the bread into cubes and divide evenly.

Cut 8 ounces of Nuefentel Cheese into cubes as well.

Grease a 9 x 13 pan.  Layer half the bread cubes into the pan, drop all the cheese on top and then add the remaining bread cubes to the pan for the final layer.

In a bowl mix together the eggs, egg whites, milk, maple syrup, oil, cinnamon and vanilla extract.  Poor mixture into the pan covering the bread and cheese layers.

Cover with foil and leave in the refrigerator overnight to chill.

Place in a 350 degree oven with the foil still covering for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and cook for another 25-30 minutes or until the top layer is golden and fluffy.

Top with additional maple syrup or whipped cream

Overnight for Breakfast or all-day for Dinner.  Either way this easy take on french toast is amazing.  It's simple enough for a yummy Saturday breakfast with the kiddo's or fancy enough to wow your overnight guest's or for a special occasion Brunch  =)