crunchy french toast

So sorry to have been a terrible blogger the past few days... I've been busy busy busy with work! Also known as, my real job. Heheh. Anyways, I'm sure I'm not the first person to do this, because I've seen it on the Food Network (and a few other food blogs too, I'm sure!), but since I didn't follow anyone else's recipe, I'm just gonna go ahead and take credit for my version. 😉 More than a real recipe, this is a highly customizable, and super easy, method! It's practically foolproof, but it's more special than the standard French toast.

French toast has always been loved in my house, even if it's always been a bit of a special occasion breakfast. Well,  if you consider having stale bread a special occasion... I'm just teasing, Mama! I looove French toast. But, as you get older, you (well, I) get tired of the one-dimension deliciousness that is French toast. Toasty warm bread that's caramelized on the outside and soft on the inside. But, well, really soft. Too much soft is pretty boring. So, to jazz it up, why not coat the bread, post-egg dipping, with crushed up cereal? Genius! Now, I originally made two slices per person as a serving, but I ate one slice and I was already stuffed! So plan accordingly. Also, I would like to point out that I went to the store specifically to buy Texas Toast, which I bought specifically to make French toast... so I suppose this is Texan French Toast. 🙂

Crunchy French Toast
Yields: 3 generous servings, or 6 normal servings


6 slices Texas Toast (extra-thick sliced white bread)
3 eggs
½ cup skim milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup Special K cereal, vanilla almond flavor
nonstick spray or butter
Syrup and washed/cored/sliced strawberries, for serving (optional)


Heat up a griddle or large nonstick pan over medium heat, coat with nonstick spray or butter.
In a shallow bowl, combine the eggs, milk, and vanilla, whisk together.
Pour the cereal in a zip-top bag, and use your hands or a rolling pin to crush the flakes into relatively small chunks... not powder though! Put the cereal crumbs into another shallow bowl.
Set up an assembly line in this order: egg mixture, cereal crumbs, large clean plate, griddle/pan, another large clean plate.
Dip the bread slices in the egg mixture for a couple seconds on each side, let the excess drip off, and put in the cereal plate. Press down so the cereal sticks, doing both sides several times to get the bread as coated as possible.
Make sure your pan/griddle is hot enough, and place as many slices as will fit on there. Now, this is the tricky part... I'm not sure how long I cooked them, but I'm guessing it was at least 5 minutes per side. I just cooked each side until the middle of the toast, when touched with my finger, didn't feel gooey and sprung back.
Cut each slice in half, arrange on plates, and top with (real) maple syrup and fresh strawberries. Delish!
We ate this for breakfast, but I'm sure it would be perfect for brunch too.