For years we would stay up
late on Christmas Eve while we put our little balls of energy to bed waiting
for them to fall asleep (yeah, right!) so we could get to work. We’d sit and wait for an hour because
any noise at all brought out the chorus of “was that Him?” to which we’d always
answer “the sooner you fall asleep the sooner Santa will come.” Once we were assured those visions of
sugar plums were dancing away we were finally able to begin the work: get the presents out of hiding and
stack under the tree; partially eat and drink the cookies and hot chocolate; stack
wood in the fireplace so it’s ready to light at dawn; prepare the coffee pot;
make breakfast…that’s right, breakfast.
When the pitter patter of
feet sounded like rhinos running to our room at o-500 hours we knew there was
no stopping the little gremlins who would rule our world all morning. Eric went downstairs to “make sure
Santa was gone” and he’d push the “brew” button, preheat the oven, light the
fire, and turn on the tree lights while Darlene was upstairs in bed playing
“tickle” to keep the gremlins occupied for a few more minutes. We’d get breakfast in the oven grab our
much-needed cups o’Joe and finally enter the land of screaming, gasping and
flying wrapping paper.
When the chaos subsided,
breakfast was ready…and oh what a breakfast it was. The first time we made this “casserole” for
convenience. It was such a hit
that we had to continue the tradition or the kids would be disappointed. Yesterday, at 19 and 16 years old, the
kids awoke at 9:30 to the smell of cinnamon, coffee and burning embers, opened
their gifts (no screaming or gasping, but still flying wrapping paper), then
sat down to their favorite Christmas breakfast. We hope you try it on your family – we think they’ll be
happy!
Easy Christmas Morning GF Cinnamon French Toast
We have been making this recipe
for years. It’s simple, delicious,
and parent-friendly on Christmas morning.
This “casserole” sits in the refrigerator overnight so it’s ready to
bake while everyone is opening gifts.
2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 sticks butter
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 loaf gluten free bread
1-1/2 cups half & half
1-1/2 cups milk
6 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
Melt the brown sugar, butter and
cinnamon in a saucepan over medium heat.
Grease a 9”x 13” pan. We will make 3 layers: make a layer of
bread slices to cover the bottom of pan and drizzle one-third of the cinnamon
butter over the bread spreading with a knife to try to cover as much of the
bread as possible. (You won’t
cover every bit, but don’t worry.)
Repeat 2 more times.
Beat the 4 remaining ingredients
together until light and fluffy and pour over the layers of bread. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
On Christmas morning preheat the
oven to 350°F. Remove the
“casserole” from the refrigerator and place on a baking sheet.
Bake covered for 1 hour. Remove the foil and bake for another 15
minutes or so, until the custard is set but the top layer of bread isn’t dried
out. Cool for 10 minutes and
cut into squares. Syrup is
optional.
Yields: 8 servings
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