Almond French Toast

We've had a very emotionally draining couple of days, and nothing sounded more comforting to me this morning than a decadent breakfast. Yesterday I bought a loaf of "egg bread" at a Jewish deli. It's somewhere between brioche and challah, so either of those breads would certainly work in this recipe, too.

French toast is one of those things that I make a little bit differently every time. This time I decided to fancy it up a bit, adding some almond extract and coating it in sliced almonds before cooking. It turned out rich and delicious, without quite feeling like dessert for breakfast. I personally prefer my French toast without maple syrup, but if you want the extra sweetness, go for it.

This is one of those recipes that comes together really fast, and yet it looks and tastes well thought out and impressive. So feel free to serve this to your special someone on a Sunday morning, with a cup of cinnamon coffee and a newspaper. They will love you for it!

Almond French Toast
serves 2 (or 1 if you're very hungry)

INGREDIENTS:

2 thick slices of brioche or challah (or other egg bread)
1 large egg
1/4 cup skim milk
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (or more if you really love almond flavor)
1/3 cup sliced almonds
cooking spray
cinnamon sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and almond extract. Put the sliced almonds on a separate plate. Dip the slices of bread, one at a time, into the egg mixture, coating both sides well. You don't want it soggy, but you want it thoroughly coated. Place the eggy bread onto the plate of almonds, pressing gently, and turn. You might need to scatter the almond slices a bit. Repeat with second slice.

2. Warm a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat. Coat with cooking spray. Cook the French toast slices, making sure they don't overlap in the pan. Resist the temptation to crank up the heat, as you don't want the almonds to burn. Sprinkle the French toast with cinnamon sugar while it cooks, and sprinkle the other side when you flip it over. Continue to cook and flip every few minutes until golden brown but not burned, about 6 minutes total. Serve hot.

Enjoy!