Though I've always thought that cute food crafts are fun, I get especially excited now that I have a child of my own to surprise with this kind of thing. Using the Christmas-shaped Peeps and piggybacking off of the idea of eggs-in-a-basket, I came up with this version using French toast.
The best part is that not only are the Peeps cute, but the marshmallows get all melty and gooey in the warm toast, so they're tasty as well!
To cut the shapes, I used cookie cutters that were similar in size and shape to the Peeps (I didn't have any cutters that were exactly the shape I needed) and it worked great. In a pinch, you could also just use a sharp knife to cut out the rough shape that you need.
You can make the French toast one piece at a time on a skillet, or if you are trying to feed the whole family, use a nonstick griddle to get more done at once.
While testing the technique for this craft, Matt and I realized that having the marshmallow make contact with the pan just created a big ole mess, so we layered a solid piece of toast on the bottom and only used the cut-out in the top piece. It worked great!
Aren't they festive? The toast itself is soaked in the usual mixture of egg and milk, but you can also add flavorings to it as you wish, like cinnamon or vanilla. The gingerbread man Peep is actually gingerbread flavored, so that one had some extra zip to the flavor.
Any kiddo is sure to get excited about seeing these on his/her plate. What a fun Christmas morning breakfast they would make!
Peeps in a Basket French Toast
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 3 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 6 pieces of Texas Toast or similar thickly-sliced bread
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup milk
- 3 Holiday-themed Peeps of your choice
Instructions
- Place a cookie sheet inside of oven and preheat to 225F.
- Using cookie cutters similar in shape and size of your Peeps, cut shapes in 3 of the pieces of bread. Reserve cut-out pieces for toasting later, if desired (see notes)
- Heat a non-stick skillet on stovetop or a griddle to medium-low heat.
- In a flat-bottomed bowl, whisk together the milk and eggs.
- Dredge both sides of the uncut pieces of bread in the egg mixture.
- Cook both sides on griddle or in skillet until browned on both sides. Place finished toast in a single layer on the cookie sheet in the oven.
- Repeat dredging and cooking steps for the cut pieces of toast. Place on top of uncut pieces in the oven. Place a Peep inside of each hole.
- Bake 5-10 minutes until the Peep begins to get soft and just barely starts to melt. Lightly press on the Peep with your finger to help it fill in the hole.
- Remove from oven, top with butter and syrup and serve immediately.
Notes
You can butter the cut-out pieces and toast on the griddle or in the skillet, or you can dredge them in any remaining egg mixture and create cute little French toast shapes. You could also save them until lunchtime and fill them with peanut butter & jelly or lunch meat for an adorable lunch the kids will love.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
We were provided with samples of holiday Peeps to come up with a fun recipe for all of you!
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