The thing that makes the snickerdoodle cookiea snickerdoodle is the cinnamon-sugar coating that the otherwise plain sugar cookie dough is rolled in before baking. It is simple, but makes the cookie delicious and highly recognizable. With that said, you can’t just add a bit of cinnamon sugar to anything and call it a snickerdoodle. The cookies are always a bit heavy on the cinnamon to ensure that they have a noticeable color and the topping is definitely the dominant flavoring; a mere sprinkle of cinnamon sugar on something strongly flavored just isn’t going to be quite snickerdoodle-y enough.
รย I tried to keep these two things in mind when I set out to snickerdoodle-ify some french toast. French toast seemed like agood candidate for this treatment because, while tasty on its own, it tends to be plain until you add syrup or some other topping to it when serving. For years, I used a sprinkle of sugar in place of syrup when I ate my french toast because I enjoyed the crunch. That sugar was always added after the toast was finished cooking, but it wasn’t a big leap to add the sugar and cinnamon mixture before-hand.
I used a soft white bread (buttermilk, actually) as the base for this french toast, but any fairly plain bread that you like will do. I whipped up a simple and basic custard, adding in only a splash of vanilla for flavoring alongside the eggs and milk. Once the bread had been dipped and had soaked up a lot of the custard, I topped half of the bread with a generous amount of cinnamon sugar and placed it sugar-side-down into a preheated and lightly greased frying pan. While that side cooked, I topped the other side (the side facing up) with cinnamon sugar so that it would be ready to go when the french toast was ready to be flipped over.
The sugar caramelized beautifully and gave a bit – but not too much – of crunch to the otherwise very tender french toast. The flavors went perfectly with the mild vanilla custard flavor of the toast and it really did end up tasting a lot like a snickerdoodle cookie! This is one breakfast dish that definitely doesn’t need any sugar or other toppings. It is perfect and ready to eat hot off the stove.
And, if you were wondering, this post was not simply an excuse to use made-up words like snickerdoodle-y and snickerdoodle-ify. But given the chance I couldn’t pass it up.
Snickerdoodle French Toast
3/4 cup milk
3 large eggs
pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 slices bread (white, or similar)
cinnamon sugar mixture, a bit heavy on the cinnamon*
Heat grill/frying pan over medium-high heat.
In a small bowl, whisk milk, eggs, salt and vanilla. Pour into a flat dish that is large enough to dip bread slices in.
Dip bread slices in egg mixture and poke with a fork a few times to ensure custard gets all the way through. Sprinkle one side generously with cinnamon sugar and place this side face down in lightly greased, preheated pan. Sprinkle the top side of the french toast generously with cinnamon sugar.
Cook until bottom is browned, then flip and cook through until toast is slightly firm and no longer wet.
Serve immediately.
Makes 4 large pieces of french toast. Will make 6 if you have small bread.
*Make up a batch of cinnamon sugar by mixing 1/4 cup sugar with 2 tsp cinnamon. Save any extra and use it to top regular buttered toast.
LCM
March 7, 2008My girls would love this! They made their own creation last week, adding the cinnamon and sugar from our shaker on top of the syrup. We are totally going to try this.
Sarah
March 7, 2008Wow…that sounds so good. I love anything snickerdoodles! Oh, I just made a post about your Blueberry drop scones…they were awesome, thanks for sharing!
steve
March 7, 2008On the agenda now making me feel hungry even though I have just eaten and big fan of french toast and cinnamon so will be trying thanks
steve
Beth
March 7, 2008The next day I have off I’m making this!! Looks great.
RecipeGirl
March 7, 2008I love snickerdoodles… and I love French toast. Sounds like a winner!
Mad William Flint
March 7, 2008oh yeah. This is inspired.
Sam
March 8, 2008Over in the North West of England where I live, we call french toast “Eggy Bread” and have it with a little bit of tomato ketchup – it’s one of the most delcious things ever!
mari
March 8, 2008Fabulous combo! I can imagined the caramelized sugar gives the French toast a nice crunch, as well. Yum!
ohiogirl
March 8, 2008Looks lovely! But as you know, snickerdoodles aren’t special just because of the cinnamon and sugar – it’s also the cream of tarter that gives it a yummy sour note to contrast with the spicy sweetness.
That said, sure this recipe is worth a try!
michelle @ TNS
March 8, 2008yum and double yum. i love snickerdoodles. i know what’s for breakfast tomorrow morning!
Bellini Valli
March 9, 2008This a sure fire winner:D
Pam
March 9, 2008I’ve been doing this for a while, but I didn’t call it Snickerdoodle french toast…Great name! I also add a dash of nutmeg every now and then. Yum!
Micah
March 10, 2008I prefer the terms “snickerdoodlize” and “snickerdoodlefication.” ๐
Curt
March 10, 2008I love cinnamon, and I love French toast (though I like the Alton Brown method that includes baking the toast at the end). I’ve never thought of the coating of cinnamon and sugar. This looks and sounds great!
I don’t think ‘snickerdoodlify’ will be on Jeopardy anytime soon, but it sounds good to me… there’s not much that wouldn’t be better servied with either adding bacon or by snickerdoodlification, or both!
cybele
March 10, 2008I made a failed batch of snickerdoodles around the holidays, they turned out flat … I called them French Toast Cookies.
meg
March 11, 2008made some last nigth and OMG!!!! the best french toast iรยดve eaten in a lot time! snickerdoodly good!! ๐
instead of white bread i use whole wheat and it turned out really well.
Michelle
September 18, 2008I love my sweets and snicker doodles, plus french toast, anything sweet and fatning.
Keisha
May 10, 2009I tried these just now and it was delicious! It needed no accompaniments. I also used whole wheat bread, but the cinnamon swirl kind. Yum!
michelle
February 5, 2010i also like a good snickerdoodle.i also enjoy the tagyness that you get from the cream of tarter that is added to the cookie dough.to achieve the i spread some cream cheese lighty over 1 side of the bread before dipping it into the egg .if you keep it nice and light you will enjoy the french toast even more ๐
Michael
January 7, 2011It’s not, in my opinion, the Cinnamon and Sugar that make a Snickerdoodle a Snickerdoodle, it’s the ratio of Baking Soda to Cream of Tartar. The ratio, different that the ratio of the two that would be present in baking powder, creates the texture and slightly tangy bite that is characteristic of a snickerdoodle. It’s that, not the coating, that sets them apart from a regular sugar cookie.