Cinnamon French Toast Bites

I think one of the best parts about summer vacation is being able to cook a nice breakfast for myself and my family.  Let's be honest - during the school year, I stay in bed until the last possible moment, and breakfast either does not get eaten at all, or I grab something to take with me.  Leisurely chopping up bread and turning the little cubes into cinnamon-sugar-coated french toast bites?  Unheard of - except for in August.

I've never been a huge french toast lover, but as soon as I saw these on Pinterest, I added them to our breakfast menu.  How cute are they?  Sweet little cubes that you can eat with your hands (or a fork if you're feeling sophisticated); dunk them in maple syrup or eat them plain - they're good enough either way.  I could see this being a huge home run with kids, although the youngest person who ate these was 27 and she loved them too.

I will strongly suggest that you make sure your bread is both thick (Texas toast again!) and kind of stale.  You don't want your cubes to suck up too much of the batter because they won't crisp up as well, and they will flatten out a bit.  You'll notice some of my cubes are more like rectangles; my bread wasn't stale enough.  The cubes get stir-fried, so they really need to have some strength to sustain all the stirring and tossing!  Go grab your stale bread and get cubing.

Recipe:

cinnamon french toast bites
from Recipe Tin Eats
serves 2 - 3

Ingredients:
4 thick slices of slightly stale bread
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
pinch of salt
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter, separated
maple syrup to serve

Instructions:

1) Cut the crust off the bread, then cut each piece into 9 equal cubes.

2) Whisk together the eggs, milk and salt in a medium bowl.

3) Combine sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.

4) Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter in a  fry pan over medium high heat.  Don't let the butter brown.

5) Quickly toss half the bread cubes in the egg mixture and use your hands to shake off excess egg mixture.  Place the bread cubes in the fry pan and use a wooden spoon to saute them until browned on all sides - about 2 to 3 minutes.

6) Remove the bread cubes from the fry pan straight into the sugar mixture.  Toss to coat, then remove onto a plate.

7) Repeat steps 4 - 6 with remaining bread cubes.  Serve immediately with maple syrup for dipping.