Spiced Apple French Toast Waffles

Fresh apples given depth with a splash of spiced cider and the familiar comfort of French toast: served baked or grilled in the waffle iron. Make your breakfast deliciously easy or a wee bit fancy.

I’m enamored with spiced cider, I’ve been adding it to so many things and loving the results. For Thanksgiving I made this cider butter sauce which I have since snuck into several other dishes including today’s. It keeps in the fridge for weeks and tastes so much more difficult than it actually is.

I will give you a recipe but leave the preparation up to you.

Served baked, as a breakfast casserole, is the easiest (particularly for a crowd) and still very good. Just toss it all together and twenty minutes later your house will smell like autumn spices, baked apples.

But my favorite for taste and texture was the French toast waffle with the fresh apples mixed in. One problem, the cleanup was a beast. I hope my waffle maker (Both the machine and the man) forgive me.

Omit the apples while baking in the waffle iron? That could certainly be done and would make the clean up considerably less daunting. But I couldn’t shake the vision in my head where the bits of apple studded the pieces of French toast. Myself and I had a small spat where myself pointed out that the apples in the waffle maker would be messy but I as adamant. If I hadn’t been so stubborn I might have just heated up the apple mixture and put it on top afterwards. Perhaps you are not as stubborn as I? Or at least stubborn about things more important than the placement of an apple.

Spiced Apple French Toast Waffles

Makes one 9 inch square baked casserole or four full sized waffles

• Combine over a low heat
  • ½ cup spiced apple cider butter sauce
  • 1 tart apple like a Granny Smith peeled and chopped into ¼-1/2 inch pieces
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tsp orange liqueur (optional)

• In a pie dish whisk together
  • 2 eggs
  • ¼ cup half and half
  • 2 TBS sour cream or greek yogurt
  • a pinch of salt

• Set aside
  • about four cups leftover bread cut into one inch pieces- I used focaccia.

For the casserole– preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Then toss all the ingredients together and bake in a butter dish or pan for about 20-25 minutes until egg is set and edges and top are brown.

For the waffles with apples- toss ¼ of the bread in the egg mixture then transfer to a separate bowl. Add ¼ of the chopped apples along with a few teaspoons of the accompanying sauce. “Pour” onto a preheated well seasoned waffle iron, spreading out the mixture if necessary. and bake as you would a regular waffle- until golden brown. About 5 minutes. Beware of apple bits that stick to the iron.

For the waffles without the apples inside- toss ¼ of the bread in the egg mixture and spread onto the preheated waffle iron. Top with apple mixture when serving.

Serve any version warm with optional butter and real maple syrup.

Spiced Apple French Toast Waffles

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Ingredients

  

• Combine over a low heat
• ½ cup spiced apple cider butter sauce
• 1 tart apple like a Granny Smith peeled and chopped into ¼-1/2 inch pieces
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp orange liqueur optional
• In a pie dish whisk together
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup half and half
• 2 TBS sour cream or greek yogurt
• a pinch of salt
• Set aside
• about four cups leftover bread cut into one inch pieces- I used focaccia.

Instructions

 

• For the casserole- preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Then toss all the ingredients together and bake in a butter dish or pan for about 20-25 minutes until egg is set and edges and top are brown.
• For the waffles with apple toss ¼ of the bread in the egg mixture then transfer to a separate bowl. Add ¼ of the chopped apples along with a few teaspoons of the accompanying sauce. “Pour” onto a preheated well seasoned waffle iron, spreading out the mixture if necessary. and bake as you would a regular waffle- until golden brown. About 5 minutes. Beware of apple bits that stick to the iron.
• For the waffles without the apples inside toss ¼ of the bread in the egg mixture and spread onto the preheated waffle iron. Top with apple mixture when serving.
• Serve any version warm with optional butter and real maple syrup.

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