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Easy “Brûléed” Eggnog Croissant French Toast. Made with flaky croissants, a warming vanilla and cinnamon eggnog, caramelized brown sugar, and egg custard (with hints of citrus). This dish is baked until “brûléed” and sparkling on top. It’s both beautiful and delicious. Every piece of this special French toast is soft, buttery, and very custardy, with a crunchy, caramelized sugar top. Top off with fresh whipped cream and maybe some fruit preserves. Then enjoy the perfect holiday French toast bake!
There are only two more nights left until Christmas Eve! We’re down to our final two recipes before we all break away for a long Christmas vacation. Are you all excited?
With Christmas Eve and Christmas Day just days away, I left one of my favorite recipes of the month for last. Oh, this French toast! It’s the most special, it’s just perfect for the holidays!
We all know how much I LOVE cinnamon rolls for Christmas. I make them annually (and have been since 2012 when I first shared that recipe). It’s not Christmas without at least one fluffy cinni roll!
Some years, I love to make ALL of the dishes. And this year I can already tell you, I am being overly ambitious. I’m attempting to make everything for my family—cinnamon rolls on Christmas Eve and French toast on Christmas morning. ‘Tis going to be a sugar-bombed Christmas…so delicious.
Salads to come in January, until then, we can indulge our sweet tooth for the holidays!
The details
Step 1: the croissants
Head to the store bakery and pick up a couple of batches of baked butter croissants. Ideally, try to find a mini croissant and skip the jumbo croissants. The minis are the easiest to work with!
You can pick these up a few days beforehand and let them dry out before using. So go get them today!
Step 2: the gooey brown sugar
Star with the bottom layer that almost makes this French toast similar to a sticky bun. It’s a mix of brown sugar, maple syrup, and butter. Layer the sauce on the bottom of the pan before adding the eggnog-soaked croissants.
The brown sugar caramelizes and thickens in the oven around the French toast. This leaves you with a thick, sticky sauce surrounding each croissant.
It’s delicious!
Step 3: the eggnog custard
A mix of eggs, eggnog (or, if you prefer, use milk!), orange liquor, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. I highly recommend using the orange liquor as it adds that touch of special flavor.
Dip each mini croissant (if using larger croissants, tear them in half) into the eggy nog custard, then arrange in the baking dish.
Once the French toast has been assembled, place it in the fridge for an hour, or even up to overnight. This is great if you want to have breakfast prepped and ready to pop in the oven in the morning!
Step 4: add sugar and bake
Pull the pan from the fridge and allow it to sit on the counter. While the oven is preheating, sprinkle over a couple of tablespoons of sugar, then bake.
The sugar will caramelize over the croissants as they bake, giving the entire French toast bake a “brûléed” top. It will be sparkling when you pull the dish out from the oven. Everyone will be excited.
Step 5: serve it up
To add a festive pop of color, I like to serve this with some raspberry preserves. But I’m going to be honest here, it’s pretty delicious straight out of the oven with zero toppings. Maple syrup and powdered sugar are really not even needed here, as the French toast is pretty sweet on its own. But of course, top as you desire.
Homemade whipped cream and fresh fruit will always be a yes, yes, yes, for us. It’s perfection.
Looking for other easy breakfast dishes?? Here are my favorites:
Easy Fluffy Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls
Cinnamon Knots with Coffee Icing
Lastly, if you make this Easy “Brûléed” Eggnog Croissant French Toast, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
“Brûléed” Eggnog Croissant French Toast
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 687 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 8 large eggs, beaten
- 2 cups eggnog (or whole milk)
- 1/4 cup Grand Marnier (orange Liqueur)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 20-24 mini croissants
- 1-2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- whipped cream, fruit preserves, or fresh fruit for serving
Instructions
- 1. Butter a 9×13 inch-baking dish.2. In a bowl, mix the brown sugar, maple syrup, and butter. Spread the mixture in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, eggnog/ milk, Grand Marnier, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Submerge each croissant into the egg mixture, allowing the croissant to sit for a minute and soak up the eggs. Arrange in the prepared baking dish. Pour the remaining egg mixture over the croissants. 4. Cover and place in the fridge for 1 hour or overnight. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375° F. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the French toast. Bake for 40 minutes or until the French toast is golden and crisp. If the top begins to brown too quickly, loosely cover with foil5. Serve the French toast warm, topped with whipped cream (if desired), and fruit preserves. Enjoy!
I made this with gluten free croissants. It was amazing. It will be our new Christmas morning favorite.
Hi Candy! Thank you so much for trying out this recipe! So glad you enjoyed this french toast 🙂 xT
WOW, this was delicious and so easy. Whenever we buy croissants, we have a few leftover so I pop them in the freezer. This was a perfect use for them. I used 9 large croissants and broke each into 3 pieces. I was worried it would be too “egg-noggy” because not everyone loves eggnog. it was perfect. Plenty for 6 with leftovers for breakfast the next day. Served up with a little bacon and veggie sausage, some fruit, a pot of tea, and pom-mosas, it was a perfect Christmas morning. Nobody even noticed I didn’t make the Apple Cinnamon Rolls with Brown Butter Maple Icing that I usually make for holidays…but we did just have them for Thanksgiving breakfast.
Hi Karen! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Hope you have a wonderful New Year! 🙂 xT
This was an absolute hit on Christmas morning! Everyone loved it. Followed the recipe and prepped it the night before. Thank you for your creativity and for sharing it. This will be part of our family tradition from now on.
Hi! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Hope you have a wonderful New Year! 🙂 xT
Delicious! Thank you, Tieghan and Merry Christmas! Prepped last night, popped into the oven this morning – we may have lingered over gifts and over-cooked a little bit but still delicious! Used the mini croissants, love the brûlée and added fresh berries. Recipe is perfect as is – warm and perfect for a special morning.
Hi! Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas! xT
This was delicious! Perfectly crunchy on top without being too sweet. I highly recommend it with lightly sweetened whipped cream and fresh berries.
I should also add- we made it the night before, and just poured the egg mixture over the arranged crossaints for ease. It turned out perfectly!
Made this today, but cut recipe in half, since there are only 3 of us. It was delicious! I’ll for sure be making it again. Pretty easy too. I didn’t refrigerate for an hour, but it came out fine.
Hi! Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas! xT
Thank you Tieghan! We made this for Christmas morning today and it was DELISH! Added fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream on top and it was a hit with everyone! Thank you for always having the best, most delish recipes! Merry Christmas!
Hi! Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas! xT
I veganized this and it was DELIGHTFUL! Thanks for yet another fantastic recipe! 🎄❤️✨
Hi! Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas! xT
Has anyone made this recipe? That is what the ratings and questions are for. Not for spouting off on potential typos. She is providing a recipe to help us all with some Christmas morning cheer and deliciousness. Let this woman live!!!
I have not yet, but it seems a Christmas morning breakfast would be the perfect time to impress upon the clan to to make fruit a part of their diet ! It sounds astonishing good !
Can I sun brioche bread in this recipe?
Hi Monica! Yes, you can definitely use brioche in this recipe! xT
In the video the sugar said “vanilla sugar” but in the recipe it just says granulated sugar. Is vanilla sugar a special sugar you buy or do you make it using granulated sugar and a vanilla flavoring? Maybe a dumb question…🤷🏻♀️
You can put your used vanilla bean pods into a jar of sugar and it will flavor the sugar over time and give it some vanilla essence.
I just made this for family. Delicious!! Perfect for Christmas time. It was a big hit – definitely a keeper! Thank you for all your wonderful recipes!
Hi! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Hope you have an amazing Christmas! xT
What can sub in for grand Marnier? Would Kahlua work?
I would think any orange liqueur would work but I have not made this recipe. I just know there are other “orange” liqueurs. Kahlua is a coffee liqueur. I’m sure it would be good but a totally different flavored dish.
If I was to use regular croissants, how many for this recipe ?
If I dont want to use liqueur, can I just omit that or do you recommend I substitute something else?
Wondering about this as well!
It’s Grand Marnier Liqueur not liquor. 😉
All types of liqueurs are considered liquor but not all liquor is liqueur. Be kind. It’s Christmas.
❤️ Merry Christmas