Cinnamon French Toast Bake

I was watching Cooking Channel a few days ago, hoping to come up with an idea for Christmas morning breakfast. From The Kitchens of....with Brigitte Nguyen came on with several recipes from Pillsbury. Her special guest was our very own Jenny Flake from Picky Palate, so of course I paid close attention!

This recipe is delicious and super easy! It came together in no time at all. It has all the cinnamon goodness of a cinnamon roll, and the soft custard like texture of the inside of french toast. And, the best of both worlds when it come to toppings, icing and maple syrup. Yum!

I only used 1/2 c of Pecans, sprinkling on only half of the dish because my husband and children don't like nuts. Also, this dish is plenty sweet without the powdered sugar and additional 1/2 c of maple syrup. There's plenty of syrup at the bottom of the dish to spoon over the individual servings.

Here is the link from Cooking Channel.

 Cinnamon French Toast Bake

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 (12.4-ounce) cans Pillsbury refrigerated reduced fat cinnamon rolls with icing

6 eggs

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla 

1 cup chopped pecans

1 1/2 cup maple syrup

Icing, from cinnamon rolls package

Powdered sugar, for dusting (Optional)

 Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Pour the melted butter into an ungreased 13 by 9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish.

Separate both cans of dough into 16 rolls and set the icing aside. Cut each roll into 8 pieces and place the pieces over the butter in the dish.

In medium bowl, beat eggs. Beat in the heavy cream, cinnamon, and vanilla until well blended. Gently pour the mixture over the roll pieces. Sprinkle with pecans and drizzle with 1 cup maple syrup.

Bake 20 to 28 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove covers from cinnamon bun icing and microwave on Medium
(50-percent), 10 to 15 seconds or until thin enough to drizzle.

Drizzle the icing over top and sprinkle with powdered sugar. If desired, spoon the syrup from the dish over the individual servings. Serve with the remaining 1/2 cup maple syrup, if desired.

The recipe makes 12 servings. If you are following Weight Watchers, each serving with nuts is 11 points plus, and each serving without nuts is 9 points plus. The picture of the plate below shows 2 servings.

Merry Christmas!