Growing up I was a picky eater. I believe I only ate four different foods, one of them was French toast. These days I teach children and now believe that maybe 95% of all children are picky eaters but 100% of them will eat French toast. Why not change it up oh so slightly and try these French toast muffins? These muffins more or less are a breakfast bread pudding, topped with a crunchy brown sugar streusel. Despite that decadent sounding description they won’t wreck your diet any worse than regular French toast (and hey, portion control is already taken care of!) If you’re not watching your waistline these muffins really sing beneath a drizzle of real maple syrup. The muffin mixture gets made the night before, allowing the bread to soak up all the liquid. In the morning just pop the pan in the oven and breakfast is ready before you know it!

recipe inspired by Two Peas and Their Pod.

For the muffins:

1 loaf French bread, cut into 1/2″ cubes

6 eggs

2 cups milk

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon apple pie spice (you can also use cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice)

1/2 cup sugar

For the streusel:

1/4 cup cold butter cut into pieces

1/4 light brown sugar

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1. In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, apple pie spice, and sugar. Toss in the cut bread and stir well to combine. Place in a bowl and chill overnight.
2. To make the streusel in a food processor or in a bowl with your hands mix all of the streusel ingredients until they form small pebbles. Chill the streusel overnight as well.
3. In the morning preheat your oven to 350°F. Spray a muffin pan with non stick spray and divide the filling into the pan. Top each muffin with streusel. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before serving.
4. Drizzle with maple or top with butter if so desired.