As usual, my timing this week is somewhere south of impeccable. Now that Christmas is over, the gifts are unwrapped, and your guests have gone home, I am busting out two great, company-worthy, perfect-for-Christmas-morning breakfast recipes. Yesterday I shared my new favorite cinnamon roll recipe. Today I am going to introduce you to a mind-blowing French toast casserole recipe. Typical me! I have had French toast casserole on my radar for about a year now. And I just made one for the first time last weekend. Once again, typical me! There are a few reasons I say that this would have been perfect for Christmas morning with your family. First and foremost, it is delicious. That's kind of important. Also, it is really easy to make, and can even be prepared the night before. Then you can just pop it in the oven in the morning, chill out and sip some coffee, and prepare to be amazed. This smells awesome while it is baking. Maybe even awesome enough to help those who need a little encouragement roll out of bed. And making a French toast casserole allows you to enjoy the yummy taste of French bread without all the dipping and flipping!
Few things can capture my little foodie heart like a beautiful pan of good, old-fashioned, cinnamon rolls. Hot out of the oven, with their gooey centers, soft, rich, fluffy bread, and delicious combo of cinnamon and sugar, they are baked perfection. But unfortunately, they can also strike fear into the heart of the unexperienced baker. With making the yeast rise, kneading the dough, rolling, spreading, rolling, and cutting, they can seem like baking hell. It's enough to make a lot of bakers throw their hands in the air and declare cinnamon rolls unworthy of their time. That was me for most of my life. Then I met this recipe and fell madly in love. We are very happy together now! I have made these a few times now, and they have turned out perfect. And because it is the season of giving, I have reluctantly shared them. Let's just say that I'm a lot more popular now than I used to be.
First things first today; Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope you all are enjoying some relaxing time with friends and family. And with that, let's get to the main event here. While you are spending time with said family and friends, I am sure that a warm, cozy, delicious beverage would help make the season merry and bright. Perhaps something like what you would get from Starbucks? I know you have heard the horror stories of coffees from Starbucks that pack more calories than a cheeseburger. With all the holiday eating going on, I definitely don't want to spend a lot my precious calories on a drink. That's what cookies are for. Also, the holidays can do a number on the old wallet. So if you don't feel like shelling out $4.00 for a 400 calorie drink, check out this yummy, light, cheap, and easy to make skinny maple gingerbread latte. Consider it my Christmas gift to you.
There is no doubt about the two most popular cookies in our house--peanut butter and chocolate chip (not necessarily in the order). So I am ashamed of myself that it took me so long to put those two together to make the ultimate cookie. Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are now officially the new favorite cookie in this house! Well, we have a lot of favorite cookies. But these are right up there! What's not to love about these cookies? Soft, chewy, peanut butter cookies get an upgrade with the addition of chocolate chips. It was just meant to be! I made a double batch of these amazing cookies for a tailgate party a few weeks ago. I was hoping to be able to take at least a few of them back home to enjoy. No such luck. I could only sit back and watch them quickly disappear. My mistake was actually telling people these were peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. I should have gone with vegan organic prune cookies. Rookie mistake!
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