Apple Pie French Toast

All the goodness of apple pie is baked into this French toast casserole. It can be put together the night before and baked off while the family opens presents, cleans up paper, and gets ready to head out the door. It makes a wonderful breakfast for dinner, brunch offering, or relaxing Saturday morning breakfast.

Now I personally didn't add in pecans but I know a lot of people like them, so here they are.


Ingredients

• 6 cups dry bread, cubed
• 2 medium apples, cored and sliced
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon

For the topping:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Directions

1. Lightly grease an 8×8 or 9×9 pan. 
2. In a large bowl add the bread cubes and apples. 
3. In a separate bowl mix together the eggs, milk, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and cardamom.
4. Pour over the bread and apples and stir.
5. Let it rest a minute to allow the milk and eggs to soak into the bread. Pour into the prepared pan.
6. For the topping, mix together the butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, and salt until thick and crumbly.
7. Add in the pecans. Spread the topping over the bread and apples in the pan.
8. This can be baked immediately or stored in the refrigerator and baked the next morning.
1. To store, cover loosely with plastic wrap or foil and place in the refrigerator, removing when it’s time to bake.
2. To bake, preheat oven to 350º F. Bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes, until topping starts to brown and the center of the bake is puffed. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before serving. Serve warm.