Maple-Vanilla French Toast
*1 frozen loaf of Texas Toast
*2 to 4 large eggs beaten by hand (depends on how "eggy" you like it- I use 4)
*Enough milk to fill a deep dish pie plate halfway (the higher the fat content in the milk, the better tasting this is, cream can even be added for an extra special treat)
*1/4 cup of sugar (you can use either brown or white- restaurants often use some of each, brown will give it a deeper flavor with a "caramel-like" hint - you can use more or less sugar depending on your taste and how much milk you added)
*Cinnamon to taste (we like a few teaspoons)
*3 to 4 teaspoons of real vanilla (use less if you don't want a lot of vanilla flavor)
*1 teaspoon of maple flavoring (like Mapleine)- of course use more if you want a lot of maple flavor
Beat the eggs in a deep dish pie plate. To that, add the sugar and cinnamon. Mix well. Pour in enough milk (and/or cream) to fill the pie plate a little over halfway. Add the vanilla and maple flavoring. Pre-heat your griddle or frying pan with a little melted butter (the real stuff tastes best). Get the frozen bread out of the freezer (it should remain in there until you are ready to use it). Take each slice and coat both sides of the bread in the mixture. You don't have to take too long to coat it, you just want it on the outside. The bread will begin thawing more quickly than you'd think it would, so watch for that. If the loaf is thawing too fast, then pop it back in the freezer and only pull it out when you need it. It is a pain, but again, it's one of the trade secrets and it really makes a difference in the taste and texture of your french toast. Fry the slices of bread in the melted butter. Be sure that the heat on your stove or electric griddle isn't up too high or the butter (and hence the french toast) will burn. Cook until it's done to the consistency that you want it. Just like with pancakes, you should only flip it once. Over-flipping makes the texture less desirable. If you are preparing more than one loaf of bread (or if you like to heavily coat the bread), you may add more milk, eggs, sugar and flavorings as you see they are needed. I never measure this recipe out at all. I just "eyeball" it every time. I can just tell when it looks right. Some people like their french toast more "eggy"- others less. Some people don't like much sugar b/c they like to top the french toast with a lot of sweet items and find it to be too much. Some people don't like to use syrup or anything else, so they like it sweeter because they eat it alone without toppings. Adjust the sugar to your liking. So basically, this recipe is a guideline. I gave you the ingredients and you just adjust those to your taste. That's really the best way to do this recipe. Of course you can top this with whatever you desire. I make homemade maple syrup. If you want that recipe, I can give it to you. I just use an Amish recipe I have. You can also top it with fruit and/or whipped cream. I've seen people top it with powdered sugar. We seem to prefer spreading real butter on it and pouring homemade syrup over it. Some of my children don't like syrup, so they just eat it with a little butter on it. I often cut it up into sticks for the children. It's also good to freeze it that way and then pop it into the oven on a cookie sheet for breakfast some morning. You can buy french toast sticks, but why do that when you can make your own for less and they taste better.
