Overnight French Toast Casserole with Pecans

 

Notice the sunlight? It's because morning is the only time I get natural light in my kitchen.

These might beat cinnamon rolls as my favorite breakfast. Maybe. Actually cinnamon rolls have frosting, so probably not, but these are a very very close second. Or maybe a first. Either way, this is the whole reason I made brioche: to make this breakfast. Wow, it was so amazing! Basically it's brioche soaked overnight in an egg, milk, and spice mixture and stuck into the oven in the morning. Topped with real maple syrup (which I finally had for the first time and love!) and powdered sugar, it's divine! You can find the recipe here. 

If you've been in Utah (and some parts of Arizona and Idaho) you may have had Kneaders french toast. This is similar, but I'd dare to say better. I have a couple notes on the recipe: We did 1" slices because 1 1/2" looked too big. Unfortunately, that meant that we had to layer a bit. Next time I'll use a bigger pan instead so that I can put the slices in a single layer. The layered parts got a little soggy, and while they still tasted good, the texture wasn't great. Also, I doubled the cinnamon because I kind of really love it. 

If you don't feel like baking brioche, you can still make this. Just find a local bakery with brioche or challah. If that fails, you can use texas toast or another thick eggy bread. It's definitely worth it at least once in your life to make this from scratch, brioche and all, but I'm sure it'll be good either way. 

One warning: it's filling. Kyle and I both tried to eat two pieces and this is what happened:

Kyle collapsed and we both managed to only eat about one piece. Our leftovers:

But don't worry, it heats up very well. We stuck it in the microwave to warm up and then finished it in the toaster oven so that it was still crispy. My breakfast life is forever changed.