Eggnog Croissant French Toast Bake

Serve this Eggnog Croissant French Toast Bake this holiday season! Slightly stale croissants soak up a spiced eggnog custard and is baked with a coarse sugar sprinkled over top. Serve with a quick cranberry relish and pure maple syrup! This recipe will serve 8.

Course Breakfast & Brunch

Cuisine American

Keyword breakfast casserole, Christmas, christmas breakfast, croissant breakfast casserole, winter holiday

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1 50

Servings servings

Calories 507

Author Laurie McNamara

Equipment

Ingredients

FOR THE FRENCH TOAST BAKE:

1 tablespoon butter for greasing casserole dish
20 ounces small all-butter croissants set out the night before to stale, halved (about 20 small croissants)
5 large eggs
2 cups eggnog homemade or good quality store-bought
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or sub with pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1 pinch fine salt
2 to 3 tablespoons coarse sparkling sugar for sprinkling

FOR THE CRANBERRY RELISH:

2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup pulp free orange juice or use water
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

FOR SERVING:

powdered sugar
pure maple syrup

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Grease a 9×13 oven safe baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter.
Cut the croissants in half horizontally and arrange the bottom half of the croissants in your greased baking dish, overlapping a bit to make them fit.
In a mixing bowl or large liquid measuring cup with a spout, add eggs, eggnog, sugar, vanilla bean paste, cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground clove and a pinch of fine salt. Whisk thoroughly to combine.
Pour half of the eggnog custard over top of the croissant bottoms. Next, arrange the top halves over top and pour the remaining custard evenly over top.
Sprinkle with coarse sugar. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and let sit on your counter for 1 hour so that the stale croissants have time to soak up some of the eggnog custard.
With 20 minutes left, preheat your oven to 350°F (or 180°C).
Bake the croissant French toast covered for 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and continue to bake for another 10 to 12 minutes. Watch carefully to avoid the top from getting too browned. If browning too quickly cover the browned spots with pieces of foil.
Once baked, allow the French toast bake to cool slightly before serving.

MAKE THE CRANBERRY RELISH:

In a saucepan, add cranberries (I cut some in half – but this is optional), orange juice and maple syrup. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat until the fruit softens and liquid thickens. About 12 minutes or so.

Notes

Nutrition Disclaimer: All information presented on this site is intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information shared on SimplyScratch.com should only be used as a general guideline.

Nutrition