Delightful and Delicious

I thought I'd post one of my favorite recipes. It is great to serve if you are making breakfast or brunch for a crowd, but I made it last night for dinner for just hubby and I.

It is apple cinnamon toast strata.

Ingredients for 12 servings:

(1 pound) loaf cinnamon bread or cinnamon raisin bread

1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup diced peeled apples (1 or 2 medium apples, I use Granny Smith)

6 eggs

2 1/2 cups half-and-half cream or milk

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 teaspon nutmeg

1 teaspon cinnimon

1 teaspon vanilla

Directions:

1. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Spread the cream cheese on the bread slices. Then cut them into cubes. Arrange half the bread cubes on the bottom of the pan. Add chopped apples on top of bread cubes. Cover with remaining bread cubes.

2.In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the cream, butter, and maple syrup. Pour over the bread mixture. Cover with plastic wrap, and press down so that all bread pieces are soaked. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. (I refrigerate it overnight.)

3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake for 40-50 minutes until browned.

Here's what it looks like before its cooked:



I forgot to take a picture when it was done. It smells amazing while cooking so it can seem a looong 40 minutes until its done!