During winter in metro Atlanta, you know there’s always one thing you can count on: If there’s even a whiff of snow, there will almost certainly be a run on bread, milk eggs and toilet paper.
What better way to use your stockpile (minus the toilet paper) and indulge in some cold weather comfort food than by making French toast?
Here are five recipes from our Atlanta Journal-Constitution archives that will help you stay satiated while hunkering down at home. And while some of these metro dining spots or chefs might have moved on, the tasty dishes still hold up.
Want somewhere to munch on French toast after the snow and ice melt? Check out the eateries in our ultimate guide to Georgia diners.
Thumbs Up Diner’s French Toast
Chef/owner Talcott Printz sent the recipe for this breakfast and brunch classic.
“I dedicate all I do to my mom, Dr. Deborah Printz, who taught me the true value of pleasing the palate. She passed away three years ago but her legacy exists in every dish I prepare, " he wrote when he shared this recipe with the AJC.
Hands on: 20 minutes; total time: 20 minutes.
- ½ cup whole milk
- 3 extra large eggs
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons apple cider
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, or vegetable oil
- 1 (1-pound) challah, sliced into eight slices
- Powdered sugar, whipped cream and seasonal fruit, for garnish
1. Preheat a griddle or large skillet on medium-high heat.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, sugar and cider. Add in vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.
3. When ready to cook, brush griddle or skillet with melted butter or oil. Dip each slice of bread completely into the milk mixture and let it sit 10 seconds. Remove bread from milk, allow milk mixture to drain slightly and then arrange bread on griddle or in skillet. Repeat with remaining bread until griddle or pan is full. Cook until golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side.
4. When bread is golden, remove from heat and arrange on serving plate, two slices per serving. Continue until all bread is used. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with seasonal fruit and whipped cream if desired.
Serves 4.
Per serving: 474 calories (percent of calories from fat, 28), 15 grams protein, 69 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber, 14 grams fat (6 grams saturated), 180 milligrams cholesterol, 725 milligrams sodium.
Credit: Yvonne Zusel
Credit: Yvonne Zusel
Andrew Smith’s Monte Cristo French Toast
Smith, who served as executive chef at the now-shuttered West Egg Cafe in west Midtown, shared his recipe for stuffed French toast.
He suggests serving this with roasted sweet potato wedges and a pitcher of maple syrup alongside.
(And less than a month ago, the AJC featured this recipe collection: Saying goodbye to Atlanta’s West Egg Cafe with recipes that will live on.)
- 8 slices challah
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
- ½ pound thinly sliced ham
- 6 eggs
- ½ cup half-and-half
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- Powdered sugar, for garnish
1. Make sandwiches: Lay out challah on a work surface. Divide cream cheese between four slices and spread evenly. Top with ham, evenly divided, then top with second slice of bread. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half and vanilla.
3. Heat a griddle or nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Dip sandwiches into egg mixture, coating all sides. Arrange sandwiches in skillet and cook until brown on both sides.
4. Remove from griddle and cut into triangles. Dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately.
Serves: 4
Per serving: 480 calories (percent of calories from fat, 54), 26 grams protein, 29 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 28 grams fat (15 grams saturated), 310 milligrams cholesterol, 1,318 milligrams sodium.
Credit: Yvonne Zusel
Credit: Yvonne Zusel
Last Resort Grill’s French Toast
Tommy Wedge, kitchen manager for Athens’ Last Resort Grill, shared the restaurant’s recipe for Loaded French Toast with us back in 2013. At that time, the item had already been on the menu in some form or another for at least eight years.
The filling varies constantly. “You can use anything, including frozen fruit, fresh fruit, preserves, peanut butter, chocolate or butterscotch chips, " he said. The recipe here features pumpkin. Be sure to use pure canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. Wedge notes that the water bath is essential to keep the French toast from drying out.
Hands on: 15 minutes; total time: 1 hour, 20 minutes.
- 9 eggs, divided
- ⅞ cup canned pumpkin (half of 15-ounce can)
- ¾ cup ricotta
- 3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 (16-ounce) loaf challah, cut into 18 slices
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- Whipped cream, powdered sugar and fresh fruit for garnish
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, make filling by stirring together 4 eggs, pumpkin, ricotta, cream cheese and granulated sugar. Combine thoroughly and set aside.
3. In another large bowl, whisk together half-and-half, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and remaining 5 eggs. Dip 9 slices of challah into this mixture and arrange in bottom of baking dish. Cover with filling. Dip remaining 9 slices of challah into egg mixture and arrange on top of filling. Pour any extra filling around bread slices. Cover the baking dish with foil.
4, Place baking dish in a larger roasting pan and add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the baking dish. Carefully move this to the oven. Bake 1 hour.
5. Carefully remove roasting pan from oven. Lift baking dish from roasting pan. Remove foil and sprinkle brown sugar over French toast. Return baking dish to oven for 5 minutes or until brown sugar has melted. Remove baking dish from oven, cut French toast into servings and garnish with whipped cream, powdered sugar and fresh fruit if desired.
Serves: 9
Per serving: 413 calories (41 percent from fat), 16 grams protein, 45 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 19 grams fat (10 grams saturated), 253 milligrams cholesterol, 436 milligrams sodium.
Credit: Yvonne Zusel
Credit: Yvonne Zusel
Orange French Toast
All this family favorite needs is a dusting of confectioners’ sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup. The orange zest adds just a touch of citrus.
Hands on: 25 minutes; total time: 25 minutes
- 5 eggs
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ cups milk or half-and-half
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 6 (inch-thick) slices challah, brioche or white bread
- 1 tablespoon butter
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat lightly with nonstick spray.
2. In a very large bowl, beat eggs. Add sugar and mix well to incorporate. Add milk, vanilla, orange zest, nutmeg and salt and stir well to combine. Add half the bread and let it soak, making sure to coat both sides, for 5 minutes.
3. In a large skillet or griddle over medium heat, melt butter. Add the soaked bread and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until golden. Transfer to baking sheet and keep warm in the oven.
4. While slices are cooking, soak the remaining 3 slices of bread. Cook as directed above.
For added flavor, stir 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier into the egg mixture. Not a citrus fan? Add a generous dash of cinnamon instead.
Serves: 6
Per serving: 211 calories (percent of calories from fat, 35), 9 grams protein, 24 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 8 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 187 milligrams cholesterol, 287 milligrams sodium.
Credit: Yvonne Zusel
Credit: Yvonne Zusel
Peanut Butter and Banana Stuffed French Toast
Chef Brent Wertz gets the credit for developing this recipe for Anheuser-Busch — for adding the gratuitous tablespoon of beer in the syrup. And one also thinks of the King: The peanut butter and banana sandwich combo was a favorite food of Elvis Presley.
Hands on: 20 minutes; total time: 30 minutes
- 4 eggs
- ¾ cup half-and-half
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 8 slices egg bread
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- 1 banana, sliced into thin rounds
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- Confectioners’ sugar, optional garnish
- Cinnamon Butter, optional (see recipe)
- Maple-Beer Syrup (see recipe)
1. In a 9-inch square dish, beat the eggs with the half-and-half, vanilla, sugar and cinnamon. Make 4 peanut butter and banana sandwiches, using a scant tablespoon of peanut butter and one-fourth of the banana rounds per sandwich.
2. Dip the sandwiches in the egg mixture; the liquid should soak well into the bread. Transfer the sandwiches to a platter and pour any extra liquid over them to make sure they are soaked through.
3. Heat vegetable oil on a griddle or in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Place sandwiches on the griddle and cook on both sides until the bread is slightly puffy and cooked through, taking care not to let either side burn.
4. Top each sandwich with a sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar, if desired, a tablespoon of Cinnamon Butter, if desired, and one-fourth of the Maple-Beer Syrup.
Serves: 4
Per serving: 473 calories (percent of calories from fat, 44), 15 grams protein, 52 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber, 23 grams fat (7 grams saturated), 204 milligrams cholesterol, 419 milligrams sodium.
Cinnamon Butter
- ¼ cup (half a stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
In a small bowl, stir together the butter, cinnamon and brown sugar until well combined. Chill.
Per serving: 112 calories (percent of calories from fat, 96), trace protein, 1 gram carbohydrates, trace fiber, 12 grams fat (7 grams saturated), 31 milligrams cholesterol, 2 milligrams sodium.
Maple-Beer Syrup
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon AmberBock beer
In a butter warmer or tiny saucepan, heat the syrup and beer over low heat until warm.
Per serving: 111 calories (percent of calories from fat, 1), trace protein, 27 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, trace fat (no saturated fat), no cholesterol, 4 milligrams sodium.
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