This fried cinnamon french toast is what would happen if french toast hung around a Cinnabon. You know, just long enough to pick up some personality traits and bad habits. Chiefly among them a pile of cinnamon goodness, sweet icing, and a rich and soft interior that melts in your mouth. Quite literally the best of both worlds, this recipe comes in handy for mother’s day – or any day you just want pure indulgence for breakfast.

pieces of french toast drizzled with white glaze on a white oval plate with raspberries this recipe
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Choose the right bread

Either challah or brioche work well here, but I love to use challah, personally. It’s sweet and quite rich already, with a nice tight crumb that holds the egg mixture without falling apart. The next closest thing is brioche, and it has the same qualities.

Let the bread dry out just a little before making the cinnamon french toast, since drier bread will soak up the egg better and end up being more fluffy when it’s fully cooked. I usually just leave my challah in the bag it comes in until a few days before the β€œsell by” date, then slice it up.

pieces of french toast drizzled with white glaze on a white oval plate with raspberries
pieces of french toast drizzled with white glaze on a white oval plate with raspberries

Make the egg soak

Use half and half along with the eggs. I found heavy cream itself was just too rich, and whole milk was good, but I wanted to see if half and half was better. Honestly, there’s not much of a difference, but I still prefer the half and half. Even if it is purely for convenience, since I can just keep it on the counter to serve with the coffee later.

Some vanilla and orange zest round out the flavors, and a little salt balances out all that sweet.

Cinnamon sugar coating

Before you start cooking anything, go ahead and mix the cinnamon sugar coating up. Then, it’s done and ready for the french toast that’s hot from the skillet. You’ll want to coat the slices as soon as they’re done cooking, so that the cinnamon sugar sticks.

BUT, add the next batch of soaked bread slices to the pan BEFORE you dredge the cooked french toast in the cinnamon. If you wait, you risk burning the butter in the pan if there’s nothing in there to cook. So, to make it clearer: remove the cooked french toast and add to the pan of cinnamon sugar, add the next batch of soaked bread slices to the hot skillet, then coat the finished french toast in the cinnamon sugar.

Keep the coated cinnamon french toast warm in a 250F/121C oven until you serve it.

pieces of french toast drizzled with white glaze on a white oval plate with raspberries

Serve & Store

I included instructions to make a simple glaze, and you can really amp it up with a few tablespoons of soft cream cheese. Personally, I like this cinnamon french toast with both the white glaze and maple syrup. Remember how I talked about a cross between a cinnamon roll and french toast? Maple syrup + glaze + cinnamon. Gooey goodness for days!!

While it won’t be fresh, you can still enjoy this french toast a few days after making it.

pieces of french toast drizzled with white glaze on a white oval plate with raspberries
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pieces of french toast drizzled with white glaze on a white oval plate with raspberries

Fried Cinnamon French Toast

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  • Author: Megan
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 8–10 slices 1x
  • Category: Brunch
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

Thick slices of rich challah are soaked in the dreamiest vanilla custard, fried until golden, and tossed in heaps of cinnamon sugar.

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the cinnamon sugar coating:

  • 1 TB cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar

For the french toast:

  • 1 loaf challah
  • 1 1/2 cups half and half
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 TB honey
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp orange zest
  • 2 TB butter (salted or unsalted)
  • 2 TB vegetable or canola oil

For the glaze:

  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 3 TB milk
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 250F/121C. Whisk the cinnamon, brown sugar and granulated sugar together, breaking up any clumps of brown sugar. Pour into a rimmed baking sheet and wiggle to even it out over the pan. Set aside while you prepare the french toast.
  2. Slice the challah loaf into slices that are between 1 1/2 – 2 inches thick. Combine the half and half, eggs, vanilla, honey, salt, and orange zest in a mixing bowl, whisking to combine very well. There should be no egg whites left that you can see. I like using an immersion blender for this step. Set the bowl aside, and place a large skillet over medium low heat to preheat while the bread soaks.
  3. Pour the egg mixture into a rimmed baking sheet, and arrange the challah slices on top, taking care not to overlap them. Let the bread soak for 5 minutes, flipping the slices halfway through. After 5 minutes, remove the soaked bread to a wire rack set over foil to catch the egg drips. This way, the slices that don’t fit into the skillet right away won’t get too soggy while the first slices cook.
  4. Add the butter and oil to the hot skillet and allow the butter to melt. It shouldn’t take long. Add as many slices of soaked challah as will comfortably fit in the pan. Make sure you can still flip the slices easily. Fry on one side for about 3 minutes, and then cook on the other side for another 3 minutes.Β 
  5. Remove the finished french toast to the pan of cinnamon sugar, and add the next batch of soaked bread to the hot skillet. While the second batch is in the skillet, thoroughly coat the first batch of cooked french toast with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Once coated, store the slices in the preheated oven until ready to glaze and serve. Repeat with the remaining slices until all have been fried and coated with cinnamon sugar.
  6. Whisk the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract in a small bowl, adding more milk or sugar if needed until you get the right consistency. Drizzle the hot french toast with the glaze and serve.
  7. Refrigerate any leftovers for up to 2 days.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 slice
  • Calories: 396
  • Sugar: 56.7 g
  • Sodium: 393.3 mg
  • Fat: 9.8 g
  • Saturated Fat: 4.9 g
  • Trans Fat: 0 g
  • Carbohydrates: 72.3 g
  • Fiber: 1 g
  • Protein: 7.3 g
  • Cholesterol: 100.8 mg

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