Elevate The Flavor And Texture Of French Toast With This Clever Trick

Pillowy, sweet, and oh so satisfying, French toast is a common go-to brunch move. But, to really up the decadence factor, why not try a play on the form factor by rolling them? This easy and fun take reads like French toast and cinnamon rolls had a baby, giving them the ultimate exterior cinnamon sugar crunch vibes while retaining the sweet vanilla custard flavors you love in French toast. You use many of the same ingredients as the traditional version, such as soft white bread and an eggy custard for dipping. However, unlike standard French toast, you slather the bread with cinnamon butter and roll it up before cooking it on the stovetop or griddle.

To achieve cute, stackable French toast rolls, start by cutting the crusts off of your bread, flattening each piece with a rolling pin, and then coating them with a yummy layer of butter mixed with cinnamon and sugar. Everyone will want to get in on the next part, which involves rolling up the pieces of bread to create a tight spiral and then dipping them in your standard French toast custard mix of eggs, vanilla, and milk. After cooking on the stovetop, each cute roll gets a quick dunk in, you guessed it, more cinnamon sugar. To finish, you can even drizzle with cream cheese icing to tick all of those cinnamon roll boxes.

The key to picture-perfect French toast rolls is starting with bread that is soft but firm enough to roll. Sliced white bread is a great option, but you could also roll out brioche. Challah would work in a pinch, but its shape may be trickier to flatten, fill, and roll. While classic cinnamon sugar-stuffed French toast rolls are hard to beat, you can branch out with other delicious twists on French toast with this technique, such as filling the rolls with Nutella, fresh-sliced fruits like strawberries or bananas, or even nuts. You could also revamp your breakfast sandwich with French toast by adding ham and cheese or scrambled egg filling. Or, make a variety for a choose-your-own-adventure type of breakfast.

What's more, the roll-up method is rather forgiving. You could experiment with gluten-free bread or lactose-free milk, depending on allergies and preferences. The sky is pretty much the limit for each element and is begging for helpers to get involved. For French toast rolls that are over the top in richness, you can replace the milk in your custard with a combination of milk and cream or hit the ultimate cheat day button and use melted ice cream. Don't be surprised if family weekend breakfast or even restaurant brunch menus start to feature French toast in roll form. Plates of these eye-catching and tasty rolls are pretty much guaranteed to induce smiles around the table.