A winter breakfast using in-season oranges. The oven will warm the kitchen on a cold morning and the aroma that fills the house is amazing and will wake anyone from a deep slumber! It’s a breakfast that is often requested by returning guests.
Orange Pecan Crusted French Toast
This French toast recipe is super easy as most of the preparation can be done the night before and you bake it so don’t have to watch it and flip it on a griddle. It’s also easy to do for a crowd because all the pieces are ready at the same time.
Ingredients
Dip Mix
- 4 eggs
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg , freshly ground is best
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup Triple Sec , orange-flavored liqueur
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 12 1-inch thick slices French bread , if time, let dry out on counter for up to 1 hour
Next Day Toppings
- 1/3 cup butter , melted
- 2 tablespoons grated orange zest
- 1/2 cup pecan pieces
Instructions
Making dip mix and preparing toast to soak
- Mix eggs, orange juice, milk sugar, nutmeg, vanilla and Triple Sec in a medium bowl.
- Dip each bread slice in the egg mixture, coating each side and place in a single layer on an ungreased rimmed baking sheet (or the like). Pour any remaining egg mixture over the French toast in the pan.
- Cover and refrigerate to soak overnight (or at least 6 hours)
Morning of Serving
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Melt butter in small saucepan, Zest Oranges and chop pecans
- Spray a [clean] baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray (or use seasoned baking stone, parchment paper or Silpat – see my Cookie post about Silpat). Arrange soaked bread slices in a single layer on the baking sheet. Brush melted butter over bread slices. Sprinkle with orange zest. Top with pecan pieces.
- Bake for ~ 30 minutes or until golden brown and crusty on top. I turn the baking sheets about 1/2 way through baking because the back of my oven is hotter than the front.
- Serve with warm orange maple, butter syrup. To doctor up your maple syrup, use the saucepan you used to melt the butter to heat up syrup. Squeeze in the juice from the ends of the fresh oranges.
Orange Bowl
- Slice a small portion of orange from each end to give a flat surface for orange to sit on. Then slice orange in half. With a knife, loosen meat of orange by carving between meat and peel of orange all the way around the interior perimeter of the orange. With the meat of orange loose, remove from the peel and break at “seams” or cut the round into 4-6 pieces, like a pie.
- Set empty orange “bowl” on a plate or in a bowl, loosely pile orange pieces back into bowl alone or combine with another fruit such as blueberries, grapes or raspberries. Serve.
Notes
This is great accompanied by a nice salty meat such as Polish Sausage or Ham and an ‘orange bowl’ of fruit.
Orange Pecan French Toast
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg freshly ground is best
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup Triple Sec orange-flavored liqueur
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 12 1-inch thick slices French bread
- 1/3 cup butter melted
- 2 tablespoons grated orange zest
- 1/2 cup pecan pieces
Instructions
- Maple syrup, for serving – See my note below about ‘doctoring’ up your maple syrup.
- Mix eggs, orange juice, milk sugar, nutmeg, vanilla and Triple Sec in a medium bowl. Dip each bread slice in the egg mixture, coating each side and place in a single layer on an ungreased rimmed baking sheet (or the like). Pour any remaining egg mixture over the French toast in the pan.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat oven to 375. Melt butter in small saucepan.
- Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray (or use Silpat – see my Cookie post about Silpat). Arrange soaked bread slices in a single layer on the baking sheet. Brush melted butter over bread slices. Sprinkle with orange zest. Top with pecan pieces. Bake for ~ 30 minutes or until golden brown and crusty on top. I turn the baking sheets about 1/2 way through baking because the back of my oven is hotter than the front.
- Serve with warm orange maple, butter syrup. **Use the saucepan you used to melt the butter to heat up syrup. Squeeze in the juice from the ends of the fresh oranges.
- Is great accompanied by a nice salty meat such as Polish Sausage or Ham and an ‘orange bowl’ of fruit – keep scrolling for how to do that.
Orange Bowl
- Using a zester, start at top of orange and run zester to the bottom of orange to produce strips of orange peel. Repeat around the orange 4-6 times. Set aside and save zest for garnish.
- Slice a small portion of orange from each end to give a flat surface for orange to sit on. Then slice orange in half. With a knife, loosen meat of orange by carving between meat and peel of orange all the way around the interior perimeter of the orange. With the meat of orange loose, remove from the peel and break at “seams” or cut the round into 4-6 pieces, like a pie.
- Set empty orange “bowl” on a plate or in a bowl, loosely pile orange pieces back into bowl alone or combine with another fruit such as blueberries, grapes or raspberries. Serve.
This is from a draft post for the recipe
This French toast recipe is super easy as most of the preparation can be done the night before and you bake it so don’t have to watch it and flip it on a griddle. It’s also easy to do for a crowd because all the pieces are ready at the same time. Oh, and the aroma that fills the house is amazing! It’s a breakfast that is on the rotation around here and often requested by returning guests.
Orange Pecan French Toast
- 4 eggs
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly ground is best)
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup Triple Sec (orange-flavored liqueur)
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 12 1-inch thick slices French bread
- 1/3 cup butter (melted)
- 2 tablespoons grated orange zest
- 1/2 cup pecan pieces
- Maple syrup, for serving – See my note below about ‘doctoring’ up your maple syrup.
- Mix eggs, orange juice, milk sugar, nutmeg, vanilla and Triple Sec in a medium bowl. Dip each bread slice in the egg mixture, coating each side and place in a single layer on an ungreased rimmed baking sheet (or the like). Pour any remaining egg mixture over the French toast in the pan.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat oven to 375. Melt butter in small saucepan.
- Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray (or use Silpat – see my Cookie post about Silpat). Arrange soaked bread slices in a single layer on the baking sheet. Brush melted butter over bread slices. Sprinkle with orange zest. Top with pecan pieces. Bake for ~ 30 minutes or until golden brown and crusty on top. I turn the baking sheets about 1/2 way through baking because the back of my oven is hotter than the front.
- Serve with warm orange maple, butter syrup. **Use the saucepan you used to melt the butter to heat up syrup. Squeeze in the juice from the ends of the fresh oranges.
- Is great accompanied by a nice salty meat such as Polish Sausage or Ham and an ‘orange bowl’ of fruit – keep scrolling for how to do that.
Orange Bowl
- Using a zester, start at top of orange and run zester to the bottom of orange to produce strips of orange peel. Repeat around the orange 4-6 times. Set aside and save zest for garnish.
- Slice a small portion of orange from each end to give a flat surface for orange to sit on. Then slice orange in half. With a knife, loosen meat of orange by carving between meat and peel of orange all the way around the interior perimeter of the orange. With the meat of orange loose, remove from the peel and break at “seams” or cut the round into 4-6 pieces, like a pie.
- Set empty orange “bowl” on a plate or in a bowl, loosely pile orange pieces back into bowl alone or combine with another fruit such as blueberries, grapes or raspberries. Serve.