overnight baked pumpkin & cranberry french toast

I love Thanksgiving!  This year my in-laws are coming up from Georgia.  It will just be the 4 of us adults and my son eating, and it seems so strange to have such a small group.  Usually we invite some friends when we host Thanksgiving, but with the new baby we decided to keep it small.  It seemed like the easiest (and most flexible) option, but I will miss having a full house.

Like Thanksgiving, I also love overnight french toasts.  They are easy to make, delicious, and we usually have leftovers of it.  This recipe idea originally came from a baked french toast by Giada De Laurentiis that has blueberries and lemon zest.  I tweaked her recipe (a lot) to make it satisfy all of my fall foods cravings.  I've used chopped apple as a fruit add in, but it was disappointing because the flavor was too subtle.  Next, I tried adding fresh cranberries, and it was exactly what I wanted.  I'm prone to prefer tart things, but combine that with the sweet and warm flavors in the casserole, it makes the perfect Thanksgiving week breakfast.

Overnight Baked Pumpkin & Cranberry French Toast
recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

6 eggs
1 cup pure pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
3 cups milk (I use 2%)
3/4 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 lb loaf of day old french bread (challah or sourdough would be great), cut into 1 inch cubes
2 cups cranberries
Cinnamon sugar mixture (1 Tablespoon cinnamon and 3 Tablespoons of sugar mixed together)

In a large bowl, beat the eggs until frothy.  Whisk in pumpkin puree until mixture is smooth.  Whisk in the milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves until blended. Mix in the bread until coated. Cover and put in fridge for at least 5 hours or overnight.

The next morning, preheat oven to 350.
Remove mixture from the refrigerator and give the mixture a good stir.  Mix in the cranberries.  Pour into a greased 13" baking dish. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture on top. Bake 40-45 minutes until the top is  lightly golden and the filling is set.

Note: I always forget to add the cranberries, which is why I add them the next morning.  I assume it would be fine to mix them in after you've mixed in the bread.

red, white & blue cream scones

Scones never used to be my thing. I'd enjoy them on occasion, but I usually found them dry and lackluster. Why would I make or eat something that left my mouth feeling parched for water? I think being a picky eater has rubbed off on my son. . . if only he was willing to eat vegetables like he eats fruit. . .

One day I was browsing through smittenkitchen.com and found a scone recipe I was willing to try. These had promise that they wouldn't be dust biscuits. I made them, and fell in love. I love them so much that I haven't made a scone from a different base recipe in several years.

What I normally do with this recipe is double it. Not because I could eat a whole batch by myself, but because I can freeze the scones before baking. This way I always have scones on hand for a breakfast (or afternoon) treat, or for drop in company. For potluck breakfasts with friends, I like to bring "sconies," which is this recipe, shaped into smaller scones. I usually end up making these smaller size scones because my 2 year old loves them, and it's easier for him to hold. Now if only I could find some clotted cream in eastern NC. . .

Red, White & Blue Cream Scones

smittenkitchen.com

Makes: 8 large scones, or 16 sconies

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

3 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 Tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes

1/3 cup dried cherries, chopped

1/3 cup dried blueberries, chopped

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup heavy cream

Place oven rack to the middle level and preheat oven to 425°

In food processor, fitted with metal blade, place flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Pulse 6 times.

Remove the cover, and sprinkle butter cubes evenly over dry mixture. Replace cover, and pulse 12 times, with each pulse lasting 1 second. Remove cover and sprinkle the dried cherries, dried blueberries and white chocolate chips evenly over mixture. Replace cover and give the food processor 2 to 3 more pulses.

Pour mixture into a large bowl. With a spatula, stir in the heavy cream until mixture is just moistened, about 30 seconds. Do not over mix or you will have hard scones.

Turn bowl out onto a clean work surface, and make sure to get all the little pieces and excess flour. Give the dough about 5 kneads, while working it into a rough ball (if making sconies, at this point divide the ball in half). Take the dough ball and gently pat down to an 8 inch circle (for sconies, press both balls into 4 inch circles), working so that it has an even top and patting the sides to keep them somewhat structured (you can also press it into an 8 inch cake pan, then flip over to release). Cut circle (or circles) into 8 wedges, using a bench scraper (preferred) or a knife.

Place wedges on a ungreased sheet pan and bake 12-15 minutes (sconies 10-12 minutes), until tops are lightly browned. Remove from pan and allow to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

*If freezing: after cutting wedges from dough circles, place wedges on a lined sheet pan and freeze. Once frozen I place wedges in ziplocs or wrap well in plastic wrap. To bake, just extend bake time a couple minutes.