French-Toasted Donuts

Brunch is a meal that you can have a lot of fun with. While breakfast has a practical feel, brunch always seems like you can get away with more indulgent fare, with plates coffee cakes, pancakes and other treats. These French-Toasted Donuts combine two morning favorites – french toast and donuts – into one delicious brunch option that will have everyone at the table in smiles.

The dish begins with donuts and the secret to making a good french-toasted donuts is in the donuts themselves. Start with a half dozen glazed, yeast donuts from your favorite donut shop or grocery store (mine carries fresh donuts every morning). They should be good donuts, but they don’t need to be “great” donuts because, frankly, great donuts should just be eaten as they are. I find Krispy Kreme donuts a bit too small for this, so try to go with a slightly larger donut style. Take a knife and carefully cut the top and bottom off of the donut, revealing the interior. This trick not only helps the donut to soak up the french toast liquid, but it also prevents the glaze from burning while you have your french toast on the griddle.

Once the donuts have been dipped in a french toast batter of eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon, they are cooked until golden and served. Don’t let them soak up too much batter, as yeast donuts are usually very light inside and you don’t want your french toast to be soggy. The donuts still have glaze all around the exterior, so they have a traditional donut flavor and an eggy french toast flavor all at the same time. They can be topped with confectioners’ sugar or drizzled with maple syrup, though the remaining glaze makes them sweet enough that you can throw some berries on top and call it a day, too.

 

French-Toasted Donuts
6 yeasted, glazed donuts
3 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Cut 1/8 – 1/4-inch off the top and bottom of each glazed donut, revealing the interior.
In a large bowl, whisk together all remaining ingredients. Pour into a shallow bowl or pie plate.
Heat a nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-low heat.
Dip each donut into the milk mixture, letting it soak for a few seconds on each side. The donuts should not be too soggy. Place donuts onto preheated griddle and cook until golden, about 2-3 minutes, then flip and cook the second side until browned.
Repeat with remaining donuts. Serve immediately.

Makes 6