Pumpkin Pie French Toast Casserole

I could go on and on about the warm pumpkin pie flavor of this subtly sweet French toast and how it so impressed me that I made it twice in one week, once for friends and once for family.  But I have to get the best part without letting my verbose self get carried away:

It's seriously the easiest breakfast for a crowd I've made. You pour a mixture of eggs, milk, pumpkin, and spices over bread slices arranged in a baking dish. But even that you do the night before, so when you wake up all that's necessary is placing a dish in the oven and pulling out the syrup.

Pumpkin Pie French Toast

Adapted from Cooking with My Kid 

5 or 6 thick slices white or sourdough bread

4 eggs

1 cup milk

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 cup 100% pure canned pumpkin


1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
 (or a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves)

Powdered sugar for dusting
 (optional, I skipped it)

Maple syrup for serving

Whisk together eggs, milk, maple syrup, pumpkin and spices. Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with baking spray and assemble one layer of bread fitting it in like puzzle pieces. Then assemble another layer directly on top of the first. Pour the pumpkin mixture over the bread being sure that it seeps into every crevice and covers each piece of bread up top. It will look like you’ve got too much liquid, but as long as it’s not spilling out, you’re ok.

Let the bread soak up some of the liquid overnight or at least 45  minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes or until the pumpkin is set and bread is brown. Cut into squares and then dust with powdered sugar and drizzle with maple syrup. Makes about 5 servings.