I have been making this baked french toast for years. The traditional recipe is listed on my website as “Baked French Toast” and I typically use french bread. For this recipe I simply used a cookie cutter to create shapes before layering them in the dish. I used the scraps as well to layer on the bottom of the dish, because let’s face it… we are not wasting brioche. Scroll down for the recipe and my How To Video.

Gingerbread Man French Toast

Ingredients
2 loaves of sliced French bread (30-40 slices) or Brioche Bread
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pinch Kosher salt
Praline Topping (recipe below)
Maple syrup

Pecan Topping
1  1/2 sticks unsalted butter, partially melted
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Butter a 9"x13" baking dish and using a cookie cutter, cut your gingerbread men out of your bread. I got two men per slice. DO NOT throw the scraps away! Arrange the larger scraps on the bottom of the dish and carefully layer the cut gingerbread men on top. I placed the “end” pieces of the brioche gingerbread men on top because they were a little more hearty and they looked pretty once they baked.

2. In a large bowl, combine eggs, half-and-half, milk, granulated sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Beat with an electric mixer or whisk until blended. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all pieces are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the pieces so you don’t have dry patches. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

3. The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

4. Spread warm topping evenly over the bread very carefully and bake for 35 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Serve with maple syrup. 

TIP: It's also super delicious cold and topped with vanilla ice cream!