Blackberry French Toast

How is everyone feeling after the holidays? I am full. We ate sooo much food. And now, New Year’s Eve is just two days away, and the eating and drinking starts again! Might as well embrace it and eat up :)

Want the perfect recipe for New Year’s Day breakfast? This blackberry French toast. Mmmmm. This has been my go-to recipe for years (inspired by the amazing Ina Garten). And adding the blackberry sauce and some pure maple syrup on top is pure perfection.

This French toast is really easy to make, but it does take some planning ahead of time. You NEED to have the challah bread (or brioche bread). Other than that, there are no substitutes. The bread absolutely makes the dish (it can be hard to find, but I always have luck at Trader Joe's). You also need quite a few eggs, some fresh orange zest, and half & half.

Ingredients:

12 ounces California Giant Blackberries

6 extra-large eggs

1 1/2 cups half & half or milk

Grated orange zest from one large orange (save half for the sauce)

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large loaf challah or brioche bread

Unsalted butter

½ cup sugar (for the sauce)

Instructions:

Whisk together eggs, half & half, orange zest, vanilla, honey and salt in a large bowl. Slice challah bread into ½” thick pieces. Soak pieces in the egg mixture for about five minutes (don’t let it get too soggy).

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a sautee pan over medium heat. Add the soaked pieces of bread and fry for about 2 minutes on each side, or until browned. Continue until all slices of bread are used (add more butter as needed). You can keep your French toast warm by keeping it in a 250 degree F oven.

To prepare the blackberry sauce, add blackberries, orange zest, sugar and ½ cup of water to a sauce pan. Sautee for 5-7 minutes or until blackberries have broken down. Drizzle sauce over French toast. Add more fresh berries and powdered sugar on top!

Will you make this on New Year’s Day? I can already picture us curled up on the couch, eating this French toast, and sipping mimosas! Cheers!