Tricks and Treats

Happy Halloween! I know we promised the recipe for the Cuban black beans and rice, but we’re not going to post that today. That’s the trick. But don’t worry, we have a treat in store instead – Pumpkin French Toast with Apple Cider Syrup. And yes, this latest challenger for our French Toast Madness, is as good as it sounds.

We started by soaking the slices of brioche in the batter – a mixture of milk, half and half, vanilla, pumpkin, eggs and spices.

You can soak the bread overnight, or if you don’t want to wait that long, 30 minutes did the trick. So while our bread soaked we toasted some pecans in a mixture of butter, sugar, cinnamon, all spice, chili powder and other seasonings. The nuts roasted in the oven at 400F for about 8 minutes.

We also used this time to prepare the apple cider syrup. We boiled sugar, cornstarch, apple cider, lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg while stirring constantly. After the syrup boiled for a minute we stirred in some butter and the syrup was ready to go.

Finally we toasted the French toast in a greased skillet until golden brown on each side. Then we topped the pumpkin treat with the syrup and nuts and were ready to go.

This was probably one of the fastest French toast recipes we’ve put together (either that or this is becoming old hat). It was sweet, it was flavorful and the nuts provided that salty contrast. Oh yeah, and the apple cider syrup…like apple pie. Mmmmmmm! It was good.

It is a strong contender for the championship and earned a good 3-1/2 spoons from me. Mr. N also enjoyed the French toast, especially the syrup. It was 3 spoons for him.

Miss A didn’t care for this one too much. She lapped up the syrup of course, but the toast itself didn’t garner her top marks. She claims it was a 9 spoon recipe, but then admitted she didn’t really like it. So in this case 9=2. (Only because the sauce was good.)

Now how did Mike rank this one? As you may recall he is a harsh critic when it comes to his French toast and doesn’t hand out top marks for just any recipe. The pumpkin French toast though – this one earned the full 4 spoons from our toughest breakfast food critic.

This one is definitely worth a try and just might go the distance come March Madness time. Until then, Happy Halloween. I’ve got a princess cowgirl and a scary werewolf who can hardly contain their excitement for tomorrow. I hope you all enjoy the day as well. And for our East Coast friends and followers – stay safe and know that you’re in our thoughts.

Print this recipe: Pumpkin French Toast

61 thoughts on “Tricks and Treats”

  1. Pingback: 14 WAYS TO MAKE FRENCH TOAST | Best Friends For Frosting
  2. Pingback: March Madness is upon us | Eat, Play, Love
  6. Charles says:
    Reply

    Happy belated hallowe’en… oopsie, I’ve been rather behind :(. The bread looks really good, but I’m especially intrigued by the wonderful look of those nuts and that sauce. I’m trying to imagine the sauce flavour but really can’t.

    By the way – did you ever try making a french toast recipe “backwards”… like, figuring out all the things in your heads that would make “the perfect recipe”, and then making a recipe based around those criteria? Might be fun to see how it turned out 🙂

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  12. spicegirlfla says:
    Reply

    I’m ready to give this 4 spoons before even trying! I think this is a great french toast idea along with the nuts on top. I do like overnight french toast but glad to see it will taste just as good and easy within 30 minutes. As for the sauce, well, I’d start to call this dessert….and what a treat to have dessert for breakfast!

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  14. Nami | Just One Cookbook says:
    Reply

    My goodness this kind of breakfast made regular weekend even better!! What a great dish to start a cold fall/winter day. I’ve never made pumpkin theme breakfast (pancakes or even french toast) and this sounds and looks so delicious!

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  15. Three Well Beings says:
    Reply

    I know I would love this! I love pumpkin, brioche, french toast…what’s not to love! And that it’s easy and quick is a bonus. I love Miss A’s enthusiasm for a french toast she didn’t even really like. I hope we get some photos of the costumes? Perhaps? 🙂

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  17. Justcallmegertie says:
    Reply

    That sounds delish! I will be sure to check it out… I have been meaning to make a butternut risotto forever, imagine that will also work well. My mother-in-law who passed away last year :(, used to make the best pumpkin fritters. Sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. A real treat! Have a great day. Here in Johannesburg we are about to start Friday!

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  18. Justcallmegertie says:
    Reply

    Aaah! I love cooking and always looking for some nice breakfasty recipes…but I have never seen pumpkin in a jar in South Africa, which sort of adds some prep time to the recipe. But will still bear it in mind…maybe leftover pumpkin? Will def check out some more recipes….:).
    Gerda

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    • Kristy says:
      Reply

      Thanks for commenting Gerda. You could definitely use leftover pumpkin. Maybe after making a pumpkin risotto or a pumpkin couscous salad, reserve the leftovers for use in the French toast. 😉 So many good meals with pumpkin. Another one of my favorites is a pumpkin stuffed with bread, sage, cheese, etc. So good. We have the stuffed pumpkin and pumpkin risotto on our upcoming fall menu – they are must haves every year.

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  21. playgroundentertainment says:
    Reply

    That french toast looks amazing, although at the company I work for has more of a push for healthy meals, I have been cooking cuban black beans for the employees out of a crock pot as a staple and everyone seems to enjoy it. I would enjoy seeing your take on the recipe though.

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  41. Kelly @ Inspired Edibles says:
    Reply

    Oh Kristy, I think of all of the French toast recipes so far, this one may be my favourite… the combination of pumpkin and pecan sounds utterly delicious and it looks great too! Love the spooky ghost tablecloth and all the Halloween touches. I have no doubt that you’re in for a very fun evening with your cowgirl and werewolf… the energy is almost palpable over here too ;-). Have a great night guys!! :).

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  46. ChgoJohn says:
    Reply

    Wow! This is some serious French toast, Kristy. As much as I had looked forward to the Cuban beans & rice recipe, this was certainly worth the delay. I need to make this for myself one of these mornings.
    Wishing you and the SousChefs a very happy Halloween!

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  49. Bam's Kitchen says:
    Reply

    Happy Halloween to all of your little ones! I love french toast and the addition of pumpkins and toasty nuts is already making me feel in the Halloween spirit. As we are a few hours ahead of you, I hope we get at least a few trick or treaters here in Hong Kong but they do not really celebrate this holiday. Take care,BAM

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  50. Eva Taylor says:
    Reply

    This sounds wonderful and festive and the syrup sound crazy good! I’m bookmarking for a contender for Christmas morning.
    We were still without power on our retun home around 7 last night. Pitch dark and cold, I didn’t even bother to check the fridge and freezer, though my hopes of salvaging are fading fast. We checked into a holiday inn not far from home, they were sympathetic but didn’t bend over backward with a rate, but it wasn’t killer either. Clean warm bed and a shower! Plus I’ll get to put in my face with real fluorescent light instead of candle light! There’s always a plus side! 😉

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  55. Grammie Mom says:
    Reply

    Gonna have to try that one! The little jack-o-lanterns made me want to cry…:-(…in a nostalgic way… but then I looked at the French toast again and the yumminess took over again.
    Good one, honey!

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