Pumpkin Cinnamon Sugar French Toast Bake

Yes. I know Halloween AND Thanksgiving are both over and it's Jingle Bells time every.where.you.go. but I am holding out, as I always do, till the first of December. Am I a bah humbug? Not at all...I have said many times how everything about Fall is my favorite. The scents, flavor combinations and colors. I heart it and so I wait till I absolutely must make it look my my house threw up green and red. haha just kidding. and besides, my hubs is Italian and so we celebrate Little Christmas on the 6th of January, ergo... I have a week of extra decor. 

and so...this week, I still have "fallish" recipes for you, what better way to take advantage of all the sale items! 

I love french toast casseroles/bakes. I got my first recipe a few years ago and have adapted quite a few versions since then. This is one of my favorites and I have two versions here, the one I made this week and the easy recipe that is my normal go to. the first is different b/c I used sliced bread...but when I saw it, I knew I had to use it and I had just made the Apple Cider Whoopie Pies and had some filling left over and last minute decided to add it for this and see how it came out. Good. people. Good.

Version 1(pictured)
1 loaf cinnamon sugar bread
1 cup pumpkin spice coffee creamer
4 eggs
2 tbsp butter(cold and cut into pieces)
2 tbsp cinnamon sugar
cheesecake filling(see below for recipe)

Cut each bread slice into 4 pieces, lay each piece "on top" of the other. Using a butter knife, spread the cheesecake filling(click HERE to see recipe) onto each slice. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, creamer and a pinch of the cinnamon sugar. Pour over the bread, if there is any left, you can save it and after it soaks in the fridge, pour onto it before it bakes) I sometimes use my hands to press the slices down, just to make sure the pieces are completely covered. Let sit in fridge for at least 8 hrs. 

Bake for 25 min and take out of oven, place butter pieces over the bread and top w/remaining cinnamon sugar and bake for another 5-10 minutes. 

Serve warm, if for breakfast, you can serve w/syrup or whip cream and if as a dessert, goes great w/ ice cream.

This is the alternate version and how I normally make these "casseroles"
1 large or 2 small loaves of french bread
1 cup pumpkin spice creamer
1/2 cup milk
5 eggs
2 tbsp cinnamon sugar
2 tbsp butter)cold and cut in small pieces)

tear the bread slices and place in pan.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, creamer and a pinch of the cinnamon sugar. Pour over the bread, if there is any left, you can save it and after it soaks in the fridge, pour onto it before it bakes) I sometimes use my hands to press the slices down, just to make sure the pieces are completely covered. Let sit in fridge for at least 8 hrs. 

Bake for 30/35 min and take out of oven, place the butter pieces over the bread and sprinkle w/remaining cinnamon sugar. Bake another 5-10 minutes.

If for some reason you can't find the pumpkin creamer anymore, you could use half/half and add a tbsp of pumpkin pie spice.

and from my trip last week, I was in Boston and the first thing I did when I landed and waited on my in laws to pick me up was this...

I love everything about this. In case you never read THIS post, I love me some Dunkachinos and since I'm Southern...obviously I love red velvet. However...there's few things I adore more than the Pats. Yes, some of you hate me now. it's ok. My feelings aren't hurt;)

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bundles

There are a lot of ideas I conjure up on my own for this blog, but the majority are adapted(ran with) from other amazingly creative recipes. This is one of those times. I love me some Pinterest...ok, ok. More so I am addicted, but I can't help it. it's not my fault it's so fantastic! and one of the recipes I had seen so many times was for a sopapilla cheesecake, the picture that kept me drooling was originally from Real Mom Kitchen, but I discovered it via My Yellow Umbrella...both of which are fabulous blogs that I recommend you check out! 

and so I made it, and while it was quite tasty, mine looked no where near as utterly mouth drooling watering as that one did and I admit, I try not to serve ugly food. Sometimes while doing this blog, that's the one thing I feel holds me back...some of the pictures people put on their blogs blows my mind and I get nervous and feel inadequate...then I get over and blog anyways. haha but, I did find an answer to my problem, I just made individual "bundles" and voila, problem solved. or as solved as I'm gonna get it. My food tastes good, and that's as good as it's gonna get;)

Ingredients
2 packages crescent rolls
8 oz pumpkin cream cheese, softened(if you can't find it, check my notes section)
1 package cheesecake pudding mix, dry
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp butter, melted
cinnamon sugar 
pumpkin pie spice(optional)

Directions
unroll crescent rolls, separate and lay flat on pan. Mix together cream cheese, pudding mix and heavy whipping cream till stiff peaks appear. Place a tbsp of the pumpkin mixture and place on the "fat" end of the crescent roll, roll up as you normally would. Brush the tops w/butter and the cinnamon sugar and PP spice. Bake as directed. let cool for about 15 min and enjoy.

Notes***If you can't find pumpkin cream cheese, there are a few options. You could add dry pumpkin pudding mix to the mixture( I found this at the inner depths of Hell Walmart, just add an extra 1/4 cup of whipping cream. You could also probably use 1/2 cup pumpkin pie mix, I haven't done that so I cannot guarantee how it would come out.

and if you have extra, put in the fridge to set up for an hour and use as a dip, with either graham crackers or apples. There you go, folks...two treats in one, you're welcome!

I can also say these are tasty as a breakfast option with a coffee(or if you're me, a Dunkachino)

bourbon caramel french toast casserole

Yes. Bourbon. Caramel. and french toast, all in one. You're welcome.

 Down South we're known for our casseroles. Especially around the holidays. This is one of my favorites, it's quite simple to prepare and oh. so. delicious. and I think I have made roughly 25 different versions.  I originally had this the first time 4 years ago when a group of my favorite ladies and I were making breakfast for the Ronald McDonald House. It called for regular milk, eggs, cinnamon and french bread.  

Then I made it better. Being humble is my specialty.

this will yield one large casserole or two small(roughly 9x 13 or two 9 x 9, I also sometime use loaf pans)

Ingredients

1 cup caramel coffee creamer

2 tbsp bourbon(I used Makers Mark)

3 eggs

2 tbsp cinnamon sugar

4 tbsp butter

1 large french bread loaf(or 2 small)

whip cream topping

1 cup cold whipping cream

2 tbsp caramel ice cream topping(or syrup)

1 tbsp bourbon

(whip all ingredients together until stiff peaks form)

 rip medium sized pieces of the bread (you could also cut the bread into "uniform" cubes. but why?) lay the pieces in the pan. Whisk the creamer, bourbon and eggs till smooth, add a smidgen of the cinnamon sugar and pour over the bread pieces, making sure to coat as many pieces as possible. I usually use my hands to press the pieces down and completely coat them. Cover in foil and place in the fridge overnight or at least 8 hours.

 Preheat oven to 350' and bake, covered in foil for 20 minutes and then uncovered for 15-20 more minutes. Top w.butter and sprinkle on cinnamon sugar, & if you have it, top w/some of the caramel ice cream topping. This takes roughly 20 min to prepare, it's super simple...I promise.

We have this Christmas and Thanksgiving for breakfast...the rest of the time, I make these as dessert. I top it with the homemade whip cream and that's all she wrote. I made this version for Wiki's bday and a friend of ours, Busa, ate a bite, took a deep breath and said "That may be the best thing I've ever eaten"

I'm not positive, but I think that means he liked it;)

*notes. If you don't want to use coffee creamer, milk is fine, that's what the original calls for anyways, just don't use skim milk. 2% is probably the lightest you could go and still get the same texture. Just find a way to add caramel to the milk, ie, pudding pack or the ice cream topping. & for the whipped topping, you can also just use cool whip and add the caramel and bourbon. Tasty in it's own right.