Baked Crunchy French Toast Dessert

I made this dairy-free for my lil guy. So hard to believe he is already 17 months old!
My baby is a fan of crunchy treats (go figure...he's a picky toddler) but doesn't handle dairy well; nor does he really go after overly sweet food. (Bless his little heart <3)

I made dairy-free french toast for him before. He took to it well but he can get weirded out by soft textures. Plus, I wanted something where he could feed himself easily that wasn't so greasy. I knew I could create something even better; with the same flavors but a crunchy treat he can carry around. He loves to eat and run :)

This recipe solved the problem! He took it, gobbled it up and ran!

Servings: About 30 to 37 sticks depending on how big you cut your bread

Servings: About 30-37 sticks depending on how big you cut your bread

About 2 cups of Waffle Crisp Cereal (You can use any cereal you'd like; I just happened to have waffle crisp in the house and I love the flavor. Oh, nostalgia...)

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons (½ stick) melted salted butter (or unsalted with ⅛ teaspoon of salt added after it's melted)

5 large eggs

½ cup full-fat coconut milk + 2 tablespoons (or half and half for a dairy option)

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoons light brown sugar (optional)

1 loaf of brioche bread (I use Sara Lee; 1lb 4oz brioche artisan bread)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or if you have a sheet pan rack that fit, it would be best to use this. Spray your rack with non-stick baking spray.

subheading: Prepare the crunchy coating:

Place the 2 cups of your cereal, cinnamon and melted butter in a food processor. Pulse a few times to get a coarse crumble. You don't want the coating too fine. Empty the crumble onto a large, shallow dish and set aside.

subheading: Prepare the egg mixture:

In another shallow dish, whisk together the eggs, coconut milk (or half and half), sugar and vanilla extract until well combined.

subheading: Assemble:

Cut each slice of brioche bread into 3 or 4 vertical slices. Dip each piece of bread into the egg mixture giving it a quick soak on both sides (don’t overly saturate the bread or it will fall apart).

Press the dipped bread into the cereal crumble mixture, turning to coat all sides while gently pressing the bread into the mixture. Assemble the french toast sticks on the prepared baking sheet or sheet pan rack.

Bake for 16 to 18 minutes (I baked mine for 17). Serve warm with maple syrup, powered sugar, fruit or even ice cream! These sticks taste AMAZING on their own as a snack but I love to top mine with a strawberry compote and fresh homemade whipped cream :)

Servings: About 30 to 37 sticks depending on how big you cut your bread

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