Toffee Apple French Toast

This was very, very good. The only change I would make to the original recipe next time would be to soak the bread overnight in the egg/milk mixture then when I’m ready to put it in the oven I would assemble it. When I made it, the bread didn’t look like there was enough of it, so I added more, then I ended up needing to add more egg/milk so it turned out slightly different than it was probably intended. Plus the bread on the top ended up being almost crouton-like, delicious, but still crouton-y. One of my concerns was that it would turn out too soggy, but I used day-old sourdough bread and it turned out very tasty. The knife that was supposed to test clean never did after about 45 minutes at 350° then another 10 at 400° so I just called it done and it was cooked through. The cream cheese mixture is very rich and buttery and using tart apples (I ended up using 3 instead of the 2 called for and sliced them instead of chopping them) makes this a perfect breakfast recipe.

8 c. cubed French bread (1 inch cubes)
2 medium tart apples, peeled and chopped
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
¾ c. packed brown sugar
¼ c. sugar
1 ¾ c. milk, divided
2 tsp. vanilla extract, divided
½ c. English toffee bits or almond brickle chips
5 eggs

1. Place half of the bread cubes in a greased 13X9 inch baking dish; top with apples. In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugars, ¼ c. milk and 1 tsp. vanilla until smooth; stir in toffee bits. Spread over apples. Top with remaining bread cubes. In another mixing bowl, beat the eggs and remaining milk and vanilla; pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Yield: 8 servings

Cinnamon Roll Cherry Cobbler

I made this for the first time last night and it was good. I used cherry pie filling since I had it on hand and just stirred the red-hots into it, it turned out just fine. The cinnamon rolls are not a yeast dough cinnamon roll, they end up being more like a cinnamon pastry roll but they are very good. Our lemon glaze was pretty runny so it didn't look as appetizing drizzled over it and I'm not sure what it added to it, if anything. But I will keep this one around.

1 can (14 ½ oz) pitted tart cherries
½ c. sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
½ c. water
3 Tbsp. red-hot candies

1 ½ c. all-purpose flour
6 Tbsp. brown sugar, divided
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ c. shortening
1 egg, lightly beaten
¼ c. milk
1 Tbsp. butter, softened
1/3 c. finely chopped pecans
½ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ c. confectioners’ sugar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Drain cherries, reserving juice; set cherries aside. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, water and reserved juice until smooth. Stir in red-hots. Bring to boil, stirring constantly; cook 1-2 minutes longer or until thick and bubbly and red-hots are melted. Stir in cherries; heat through. Transfer to a greased 8” square baking dish.
In a bowl, combine the flour, 3 Tbsp. brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening until crumbly. Combine egg and milk; stir into crumb mixture just until blended. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead 3-4 times. Roll into a 14” X 10” rectangle. Spread with butter; sprinkle with pecans. Combine cinnamon and remaining brown sugar; sprinkle over top.
Roll up, jelly-roll style, starting with short side. Cut into eight slices; place cut side down over cherry pie filling. Bake at 400˚ for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 10 minutes. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over cobbler.

Yield: 8 servings