When you think of Christmas morning, cinnamon rolls are almost synonymous with the occasion. In fact, the heavenly rolls of dough actually smell like Christmas spirit. I will never discourage someone from the art of a homemade Christmas morning cinnamon roll. 
But let’s keep this real and authentic: they are time consuming… time that you frankly may not have. Wrapping last minute presents, sugar buzzed kids, holiday parties, and Santa antics are a lot for one evening of fun. (Quick disclaimer: If you are purposely trying to fill time to avoid exciting family dynamics and opinionated in laws, then roll on baby girl. I support your endeavors!)
For the rest of us, instead of making a legally binding marriage with your kitchen for 24 hours this Christmas, let me offer you the gift of time and sanity. I submit for consideration, my favorite and soon to be yours, Sourdough French Toast Bake. You get the nostalgic comfort of cinnamon and sugar but elevated by the richness of the sourdough. Bonus, there is an unexpected twist of a vanilla yogurt drizzle that will ode to the past fond memories of icing on your cinnamon rolls. The best part of this entire recipe? It only takes 20 minutes to prep the night before and then off to the fridge it goes before you enjoy much needed time with the people you love most.
For the french toast bake:
- 1 loaf of day old sourdough bread (if you didn’t adopt a sourdough starter in 2020, store-bought is a win here)
- 6 eggs
- 2 cups milk (I use almond milk for my dairy sensitive babies)
- 3/4 cup half and half (OATLY full fat oat milk works as a great substitute here!)
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste or quality vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
For the topping:
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 3 tbsp cold butter (I personally like Miyokos for dairy free butter sticks)
For serving:
- pure maple syrup
- good vanilla yogurt (Vanilla Noosa is a win in this recipe, as well as Bourbon Vanilla Culina Yogurt for dairy free!)
- raspberries
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Cut your sourdough into cubes (roughly 1/2”) and place in a greased 9×13 baking pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together your eggs, milk (or almond milk), half and half (or full fat oat milk), coconut sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Pour over your cubed sourdough in the pan.
- Refrigerate overnight, or at minimum 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a small bowl combine coconut sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut your butter into small pieces and add to your flour mixture. With a fork, blend butter into mixture until it resembles small crumbs. Sprinkle over bread in the pan.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. To check, shake the pan. If there is movement (i.e. it wiggles), its not quite done. Continue to bake it until cooked through completely.
- Serve with a drizzle of quality vanilla yogurt and maple syrup. I like to serve mine with raspberries to balance the rich bake.
While this is a perfect Christmas breakfast recipe, don’t limit yourself – feel free to enjoy on any slow Saturday morning! I promise it won’t disappoint!
