Pumpkin Brioche French Toast
Trader Joe’s has me fall inspired with EVERYTHING pumpkin hitting the shelves last week. I may have gotten one of everything aaand two of most things. The pumpkin brioche caught my eye and I quickly started day dreaming of a pumpkin brioche French toast with a maple butter. You’ll soon notice that this recipe was made entirely with Trader Joe’s ingredients.
If you don’t have a TJ’s to raid, you can substitute regular brioche or any thick cut bread. I also used Trader Joe’s oat milk which worked really well in this recipe, you can use any milk you have in the fridge.. unless it’s spoiled.
To start, crack the eggs into a shallow dish and add the milk, vanilla, and spice. Whisk until well combined. Lay in the slices of brioche and let soak up some of the mixture for a minute or so. Flip & soak the other side, repeat for each slice of bread. You want the bread to be wet but not soggy all the way through.
While the bread soaks, heat a pan to medium low heat and spray with oil or ghee. Once ready to go, add the bread to the pan, careful not to crowd it. Mine only fit two slices so I only soaked two at a time so the second two wouldn’t get soggy.
Let cook for 3-5 minutes per side. The key here is the lower heat so the eggy mixture, that’s now inside the bread, cooks into delicious custardy goodness.
While the toast cooks, prep your vanilla maple butter. Here again I used Trader Joe’s vanilla bean paste (this is a seasonal item but it’s baaaack!) and you can also use vanilla extract.
In a small bowl, combine the softened butter, vanilla bean paste, and maple syrup. If you’re using unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt. Mix well & set aside.
Once each piece of bread is toasty on the outside & custardy on the inside. Plate ’em up and top with the butter mixture. Serve with even more maple syrup and a large cup of black coffee.
- 4 slices pumpkin brioche
- 2 large eggs
- 4 tbsp milk or milk alternative
- 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie seasoning
- maple syrup for topping
- 4 tbsp softened butter
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- In a shallow dish (like a pie pan) whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and pumpkin pie seasoning until well combined.
- Lay in the brioche one slice at a time, soaking each side until it's wet but not soggy all the way through, about a minute.
- In a pan heated to medium low heat, add the brioche 1-2 slices at a time, being sure not to crowd the pan and cook until golden, about 3-5 minutes. Flip and then repeat with each slice.
- While the toast cooks, prep the butter by combining the softened butter, maple syrup, and vanilla bean paste. Salt if necessary & stir well.
- Plate up the pumpkin brioche French toast and top with the butter mixture and even more maple syrup.
Any type of thick cut bread like regular brioche or challah can be substituted for the pumpkin brioche.
While I used oat milk, any type of milk can be used.
Regular vanilla extract can be used in place of vanilla bean paste.
