mom2mom {linky party}: Crème Brulée French Toast Recipe

I’m excited to share one of my favorite recipes with you for this Monday’s edition of mom2mom!

We had a Sunday School “bring your own breakfast” party yesterday and I brought one of my favorite breakfast casseroles, Crème Brulée French Toast. It’s very simple to make, but one that always has people asking me for the recipe! I have served this at wedding and baby showers, brunches, and even for "breakfast for dinner"!

You do need to plan ahead just a little because it requires you to put the casserole together the night before, refrigerate it, and bake it in the morning. But it’s so worth the (little bit of) effort!

Here are the ingredients you'll need:

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp. corn syrup
• 1 loaf French bread, sliced (I get the fresh French loaves at Wal-Mart)
• 5 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups half and half
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. salt

The night before you want to serve your casserole:

1. Spray your casserole dish with a nonstick cooking spray.
2. Melt butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup together until blended. Pour in the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole dish, making sure the bottom is covered.
3. Arrange the bread slices in the pan over the syrup. Depending on the size of your slices/loaf, you might have to squish the pieces together. Mine don't usually end up in a single layer, but more overlapping each other a little. I like it this way, because then the bottom of the bread is gooey and the top is a little more crunchy.
4. Whisk together the eggs, half and half, vanilla, and salt. Pour over the top.
5. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing down to make sure the bread soaks up all the cream mixture. Refrigerate for 8-24 hours.

In the morning:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bring casserole to room temperature. Bake for 40 minutes.
2. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top of each piece as it is being served!

Try it...I promise that it'll be a hit!

Anyone else have any great "tried and true" recipes? Link up or leave a comment and let us know!