Fantastic French Toast

My kids were never big breakfast eaters when they were little. I was always searching for a creative to every day basics to make breakfast interesting enough for them to eat. They loved having hand-sized pouches that they could grab and take with them.

I was thrilled when I discovered a Pampered Chef kitchen tool called a Press 'N Seal. It is a wonderful tool that could be used to remove crust from bread and seal filling between two pieces. I used it to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches when the kids were toddlers and it reduces the mess of jelly falling out from between the slices of bread.

I thought this nifty tool could also be used for French toast. Rather than frying it and adding calories, baking it in the oven provided a calorie-reduced option. If I was unable to keep the kids at the kitchen table, this was a breakfast food they could take in the car on the commute to school and eat on the way or use as a mid-morning snack.

If you do not own a Press 'N Seal tool, you can still make this recipe. Simply use a biscuit cutter to remove the crust, add the filling and press the edges of the bread together with the tines of a fork. Another way would be to serve them square, cut the crust off the bread with a knife, fill and press with a fork.

This is great served with bacons strips, sausage links, eggs, and hash brown potatoes.

Ingredients

• 4 Ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2-3 Tablespoons canned pastry filling (almond, raspberry, blueberry, apricot, etc.)
• 2 Eggs
• 1/3 Cup milk
• 1/2 Teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 Teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 Teaspoon cinnamon
• 24 Slices thick bread
• Powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Blend cream cheese with filling until smooth in food processor.
3. Set aside.
4. Beat eggs.
5. Blend in milk vanilla and spices.
6. Spread filling mixture in small circle on each of the 12 slices of bread.
7. Top each with another slice of bread.
8. Cut and seal the two pieces of filled bread together with a cut and seal kitchen tool.
9. Dip filled bread pouches in egg mixture.
10. Place dipped pieces on a baking stone and bake for 5 minutes.
11. Turn pieces over and continue baking for 5 additional minutes or until golden brown.

Serve warm dusted with powdered sugar.

Yields: 12 pieces.