Baked Apple Cider French Toast

For years, I've set aside at least one day every Fall for apple pie making and it usually coincides with our annual trip to the North Georgia apple orchards.🥧  Some years I've even made it a cooperative effort by inviting friends to join me for a pie baking day.🥧  Baking is always more fun with friends.👩🏻‍🍳🧑🏻‍🍳 

The day goes like this: I peel and slice TONS of apples.🍎🍏 I put all of my sliced apples and spices into a big dutch oven and cook them down for 10-15 minutes so that they release some of their juices before I add them to my pie.  I make my favorite buttery homemade pie crusts.  I make pies, cover them with plastic wrap and foil and put them in the freezer so that I can take them out, defrost them and bake them up fresh over the holidays.  

Before you start to email me, I realize that pre-cooking my apples isn't a typical practice for a lot of apple pie bakers... but it's what works for me.🤷🏻‍♀️   It keeps my pies from getting soggy and I end up with a pot full of the most deliciously spiced apple juice that I've ever tasted.😋

I'm not one to waste any food and certainly not something as delicious as freshly extracted apple juice.  I cook my leftover apple juice down until it's thick and syrupy and perfect to use in recipes like apple cider donuts, apple cider glazed chicken, apple cider caramel rolls or this baked apple cider french toast.  

You don't have homemade apple cider, you say?  No worries.  Store bought apple cider works just as well for this recipe.  And as an added bonus, you will probably have some leftover cider to try one of my other delicious apple cider recipes too.  

Baked Apple Cider French Toast
1 loaf French bread
6 eggs
1 cup apple cider
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cinnamon Apples
1/4 cup butter
4 medium apples, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup apple cider
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup pecan halves

Toppings
Powdered sugar
Maple syrup
Salted caramel sauce

Slice bread into 1" slices and let sit out for up to 24 hours. 

Whisk together eggs, apple cider, milk, brown sugar, orange zest, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.

Dip each bread slice into egg mixture to coat both sides.  

Arrange bread in a greased 9x13" dish.  Pour remaining egg mixture over top.

Melt butter in skillet. Add apples, apple cider, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and salt. Cook for 8 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in pecans. 

Spoon apples and remaining sauce over bread.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Bake casserole 20 minutes, covered with foil.  Uncover and bake 25-35 minutes longer.

Ciao!

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