Pumpkin stuffed French toast is a great way to change up any fall or winter brunch get-together. Decadent and delicious!
Pumpkin Stuffed French Toast Recipe
The weekend is here and it is time for a treat. There has been a lot of healthy cooking going on here - Mushroom & Edamame Salad, Baked Trout (or Salmon), Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins and Roasted Cauliflower, to name a few. For weekend brunch, we are going to break out the cream cheese, pumpkin and white bread, and cook up some stuffed French toast. Besides, with what we experienced in Utah yesterday, we deserve some comfort food. Keep going, you'll see what I mean.
Last weekend, we loaded up our daypacks with water, sunscreen, sandwiches and apples, and headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon for a hike. If you have ever skied Solitude or Brighton, then you have travelled up this beautiful canyon, complete with dramatic mountains jutting straight up from the side of the road and pine and aspen trees interspersed between the slate gray rocks. It is beautiful in every season, but really shows off its best side at the beginning of autumn.
We started at the trailhead, ready to set off on the 3-mile hike to Lake Blanche, which is flanked by Sundial, Dromedary and Sunrise Peaks. Three miles may not sound like a long route but when the elevation change is 2700 feet, you work up a sweat and an appetite. Let me tell you, turkey sandwiches never taste as good as they do when you are sitting by a mountain lake after a big hike. The boys were troupers, never complaining on the 5-hour round-trip journey. Our youngest picked up a walking stick within the first five minutes and strolled with it the whole way.
As much as I enjoy playing in the leaves in our own backyard and watching the mountains from afar as they change from a blanket of green to a rainbow of fall colors, there is something special about experiencing the changes of autumn right smack dab in the middle of nature. It is peaceful, it is spectacularly beautiful and it provides an opportunity to share it with each other. My husband and I always say that a quiet spot high in the mountains, where the hustle and bustle of every day life seems so far away, is our church.
Yesterday, a mere four days after the hike (in which we were wearing shorts and t-shirts), a cold front came through. I don't mean that there was just a nip in the air. No, I mean that the temperature plummeted from 85 degrees to 35 degrees F. And it snowed! In case you think I'm pulling your leg, here's a scene from our back door.
You can see why we might be craving comfort foods - foods that warm us from our fingertips to our toes. Pumpkin and spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon hold a natural warmth, as though someone is wrapping a blanket around you. This stuffed French toast is full of all of those things and is a lovely way to start a weekend morning. Top it with toasted pecans for a little crunch and nutty flavor that complement the tenderness of the French toast nicely. Serve with pure maple syrup and a pat of butter, if you wish.
The recipe:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, pumpkin puree, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg until fairly smooth (it's okay if there are a few lumps).
Divide the pumpkin mixture across 6 pieces of bread, spreading almost to the edges. Place the pieces of bread on top to form sandwiches.
Note: I photographed this post with sandwich bread, but I highly recommend that you use a sturdy French country bread for better results.
Preheat a nonstick griddle to 375 degrees F or set a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. With a nonstick griddle, it's not necessary to use any butter, but you may find you need to coat a nonstick skillet with some butter or cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla and salt. Transfer to a shallow dish.
Place sandwiches in the egg batter, working with 2 at a time. Let the mixture soak into the bread, about 1 minute per side.
Transfer the sandwiches to the prepared griddle or skillet and cook until the bread is golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.
Transfer to the oven to keep warm, laying the French toast in a single layer on a wire rack set over a large baking sheet. Repeat with remaining sandwiches.
Serve with toasted pecans and pure maple syrup.
Other stuffed French toast recipes
:
Inn Cuisine's Strawberries & Cream Stuffed French Toast
Panini Kathy's Banana-Stuffed French Toast
Eclectic Recipes' Nutella Stuffed French Toast with Maple Strawberry Syrup
La Bella Vita's Raspberry & Italian Mascarpone Stuffed French Toast
Printable Recipe
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast
Ingredients
- 6 ounces ⅓-less-fat cream cheese softened
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie mix
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 16 slices French country-style bread
- 1 ¾ cups 1% milk
- 8 eggs
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped pecans toasted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, pumpkin puree, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg until fairly smooth (it's okay if there are a few lumps).
- Divide the pumpkin mixture across 6 pieces of bread. Place the pieces of bread on top to form sandwiches.
- Preheat a nonstick griddle to 375 degrees or a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. With a nonstick griddle, it's not necessary to use any butter, but you may find you need to coat a nonstick skillet with some butter or cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla and salt. Transfer to a shallow dish.
- Place sandwiches in the egg batter, working with 2 at a time. Let the mixture soak into the bread, about 1 minute per side.
- Transfer the sandwiches to the prepared griddle or skillet and cook until the bread is golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.
- Transfer to the oven to keep warm, laying the French toast in a single layer on a wire rack set over a large baking sheet.
- Repeat with remaining sandwiches.
- Serve with toasted pecans and maple syrup.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Helen @ Helen's Cooking
Really delicious looking recipe!A Great dish for a Sunday morning brunch 🙂 Teaching the family to <3 pumpkin and this should be an awesome start!
Jen at The Three Little Piglets
The snow looks so beautiful! It's still a litte too hot for my liking down south...
Louise
O.M.G.
Katherine Martinelli
This french toast is pure indulgence and I love it! I'm having a pumpkin linky party at my blog right now - hope you link this awesome dish up! http://www.katherinemartinelli.com/blog/2011/friday-shout-out-pumpkin-blog-hop/
Also that is just insane that the weather plummeted so quickly! I can't even imagine.
MikeVFMK
What a change of events. From hiking in the great outdoors and warm weather to snow?! Love the idea of these stuffed french toast to warm me back up. Plus, they look awfully tasty! Lovely pictures!
claudia lamascolo/aka pegasuslegend
All I can say is having two boys all grown myself, yours will look back and no one ever will cook as good as their mom. They are getting first hand what the best cooking ever will be in their lives. These are some wonderful memories... your doing a fabulous job. What a great looking family!
Heather | Farmgirl Gourmet
I have to make this. YUM! I am All-Pumpkin-All-The-Time right now. And yum....this is going on the table in the morning. Thanks Dara. You rock darlin!
xoxo
Heather
Jeanette
What stunning views and a nice hike your family took. You all are having some crazy weather already! This French Toast looks so good, I think my kids would really enjoy it.
Maria
I love Utah in the fall, too bad we already had some snow:( Love the French toast-perfect for fall!
Belunda @zomppa
It snowed!!! Whoa!! Definitely time for comforting dishes like this.
Deborah
This looks truly amazing, Dara! What a great idea!
Jennifer @ Jane Deere
Oh YUM! I so can't wait to make this!!! Pinning...
foodwanderings
Oh my snow & loved seeing a slice of life as we as a slice of pumpkin french toast. I never stuffed them before a great seasonal twist! Your kids are a dorable,
Heather (Heather's Dish)
i need this for breakfast today! i love it!
Jessica @ How Sweet
This looks fabulous - and I can't believe it snowed!
Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga
This looks insanely good. And easy. Which makes it a double winner!
Katrina
This looks like the yummiest thing I've seen all day! Love it!
bellini
I had to shield my eyes when I saw the photo of the snow flurry in your backyard. We have definitely hit a cold patch and on the mountain passes I am sure there is snow, but I am peacefully oblivious for now. The light of the day though is this pumpkin stuffed French toast with syrup!!!
Kathryn
This is such a great weekend brunch!
Heidi / foodiecrush
Okay Dara, you're killing me. First, the photo of the lake is beyond killer. Then the snowstorm we endured today, nearly killed my hopes of fall tomatoes. And now? This stuffed french toast fantasticism. RIP.