Recipe Background
These French Toast Muffins transform classic flavors into a delightful make-ahead breakfast.
The first time I made French Toast Muffins was during that whirlwind summer of moving cross-country. Boxes were piled up around my new apartment—some threatening to topple over like my emotional state after bidding farewell to familiar streets and favorite cafés. It was a muggy Saturday morning and I needed a break from unpacking, a moment to breathe, to begin owning this new space. Realizing that my sparse pantry held eggs, vanilla, and a loaf of slightly stale bread from the road trip, I decided to experiment. French toast always felt like Sunday mornings back home, so it seemed fitting to attempt a twist.
As the sun peeked through my uncurtained windows, I whisked together a creamy milk base with plenty of cinnamon and sugar. The aroma was healing—home had found me. I pulsed cold butter, brown sugar, and flour into a crumbly streusel, a satisfying process that brought calm amidst chaos. As those bread cubes soaked in the sweet mixture, I could almost hear my mom’s voice insistently reminding me to let them sit and absorb the flavors fully, ensuring a luscious result. I popped them in the oven and sighed with relief as the scent filled each room, announcing my presence to this new home.
In less than an hour, I surrendered to life’s changing rhythm while savoring a moist, spiced muffin. Though I missed friends, the realization dawned that new friendships often grew from shared meals. Over those next few weeks, I whipped up these muffins several times, gradually making the apartment feel less like a stranger. Let the muffins cool slightly before removing them—this helps them hold tight. Before long, they became my way of saying ‘welcome’ to myself, and soon, to new guests as well.
Ingredients
For the muffins:
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 5 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 6 cups bread cubed
For the topping:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter cold
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- salt to taste
- maple syrup optional, for serving
- powdered sugar optional, to taste, for serving
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease a cupcake or muffin tin with cooking spray and set it aside.
- Using a large mixing bowl, mix together the milk, the sugar, the eggs, the vanilla, and the cinnamon.
- Add in the cubed bread and gently mix to combine.
- Divide the bread mixture evenly into the muffin tins.
- Add the butter, the brown sugar, the all-purpose flour, the cinnamon, and the salt into a food processor. Pulse together until it resembles a streusel or crumble. You can use a pastry blender or your fingers to combine the mixture if you do not have a food processor.
- Top the muffins in the tins evenly with the topping.
- Bake the muffins until golden-brown, about 25-30 minutes.
- Allow the muffins to cool off in the pan to keep their shape for about 5 minutes before moving them.
- Serve immediately with the maple syrup and the powdered sugar.
×