Jan 23, 2011

Blueberry Cobbler French Toast

 Say  'good morning' with this  easy, warm  casserole of bubbly blueberries crowning thick,  puffy golden french toast,  and have a little more than you might otherwise, since  it might be , depending on which ingredients you choose,   pretty  healthy  too.   It's best  when soaked overnight but in a pinch you can get by with  a 2-hour head start in the morning.
Use  an 8-oz loaf of French or whole grain french-type bread, sliced diagonally into 10-14  3/4" thick slices  placed on a rimmed baking sheet.  In a medium bowl, whisk  together 4 eggs (use Egg Beaters if you choose), 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 c milk, 1 tsp vanilla.  Slowly spoon/pour  over the bread slices, turn to coat them completely.  Cover with plastic wrap and  refrigerate overnight or let sit at room temp for a couple hours.

Preheat oven to 450.  Butter (or spray) a 9x13  baking pan and dump in 2 1/2c   fresh or still-frozen blueberries into it.  Sprinkle with 1/2 c. sugar or splenda, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp cornstarch.  Stir to coat the berries. Fit the bread slices in the dish,  wet side up.  Wedge/squish tightly,  (even so,  you may not always get them all in).   Brush the tops with 2 tsp melted butter, and bake in the center of the oven for 20-25 minutes..the time may vary depending on the thickness and density of the bread..When the berries are bubbling around the edge, remove  from the oven, let it sit for 5 minutes  before serving.   Just lift the slices onto plates and spoon the berries over.  Sprinkle with 10x sugar if you like.

If  it's a birthday breakfast, top with a little vanilla ice cream for a decadently  melting  start to the day, and leftovers served chilled  can be presented as a delicious blueberry bread pudding.