Name: French Toast for One
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 2 large slices hearty sandwich bread; ½ cup milk; 1 tablespoon unsalted butter , cut in half; 1 large egg yolk; 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon; Pinch table salt

Why This Recipe Works

This single-serving French toast is sure to make mornings sweeter! Toasting hearty sandwich bread on your toaster’s lowest setting dries it out, preventing it from becoming soggy at the breakfast table. Using just egg yolks (versus whole eggs) in the custard gives it richness without an eggy flavor, and swapping out white sugar for brown sugar gives it a deeper, more toffee-like flavor. Before transferring the custard to a pie plate in step 3, kids can use their liquid measuring cup to measure how much custard they start with. Then, after soaking both bread slices in step 4, have them measure how much custard is left (if any). Explain to them that the toasted bread soaked up the custard, similar to how a sponge soaks up water—this is called absorption. And toasting the bread before soaking it removes some of its moisture so it can absorb that flavorful custard without becoming soggy.

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Before You Begin

You can use white or whole-wheat bread in this recipe. To make French toast for two people, double all the ingredients and cook the third and fourth slices of bread after the first two slices are done. Add another ½ tablespoon of butter to the empty skillet in between the first and second batch. Serve French toast with maple syrup, confectioners’ sugar, cinnamon sugar, butter, and/or fresh fruit.

Instructions

Place bread in toaster on lowest setting. Toast until bread feels dried out and is very light brown. (You may have to toast it twice.)

Place milk and 1 piece of butter in medium microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave until butter is melted and milk is warm, 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Add egg yolk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt to bowl with milk mixture and whisk to combine. Transfer mixture to pie plate or small baking dish.

Soak first side of 1 bread slice in milk mixture until it is wet but not falling apart, 20 seconds. Flip bread and soak second side for 20 seconds. Use spatula to remove bread from milk mixture, letting extra liquid drip back into dish. Transfer soaked bread to plate and repeat with remaining bread slice.

Melt remaining piece of butter in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Use spatula to transfer bread slices to skillet. Cook until golden on first side, 3 to 4 minutes. Wipe spatula clean, flip slices, and cook until golden on second side, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off heat. Transfer French toast to clean plate. Serve.