What’s the best use for those one or two day old croissants that are going stale but you hate to just throw away? Give these Orange Croissant French Toast a try. It’s a great way to start the day!

Hey, my name’s Christina and I love eating and sharing food over at FoodApparel.com with my sis-in-law, Tammy. We are really excited to be teamed up here with Kristen as guest contributors to share some of our foodie love! Tam and I know that anyone can be good in the kitchen with some practice, but that we all have different constraints in our lives – whether it be time, budget, or dietary restrictions. We focus our blog on sharing quality recipes and then showing how to modify them to fit your style. Thanks again, Kristen, for the opportunity to share!

Imagine this scenario. You go into Costco (where all the turmoil begins). You’re just going to get a few staples that you need for the family. You end up leaving with hundreds of dollars worth of “stuff” (all essential, of course), including a 12-pack of big, flaky, buttery croissants (because their croissants are pretty stinkin’ amazing) for the two adults in your household. Your two-year-old and one-year-old will help take care of these as well, right?

You eat a croissant right away in the car ‘cuz, seriously, who can wait any longer? And then when you get home you make an amazing sandwich of sorts. Another one for a snack later, why not? At the end of the day, you feel like you really probably shouldn’t eat another, but croissants go stale quickly, and you just can’t let these go to waste. Must. Eat. All. The. Food. Talk about some major carb loading!

Even with all of that effort and trying to keep the leftovers wrapped up tightly, you still have a few leftover croissants, and the next day you can still eat them, but they are just not quite up to their full fresh potential.

If you’re like me, you have experienced a foody predicament along these lines many, many times. I hate seeing good food go to waste, but I also hate feeling obligated to eat it! Eating should always be an awesome experience, not a burden! Now once my kiddos are grown up a little more, maybe they can pull their weight and I will never have this problem. But it seems that whenever I buy croissants, from anywhere, actually, I buy waaaaaay too many and then end up with half of the package going stale.

Luckily, I found the perfect solution: Croissant French Toast. Now doesn’t that sound fancy? And just because I’m getting festive with Fall and in an orangey-type mood, (isn’t that October’s theme color or something?) adding orange flavors with a few select spices is just the perfect finish to these.

Seriously, do I really need to give a recipe? I’m sure you don’t need it. It’s so flexible. You’re all smart and can figure out how to dip some stale croissants into a scrambled egg mixture and toast ’em up on a griddle. And then as far as what you want to add for additional flavor, the sky’s the limit! But, hey, whether you want to follow this recipe, or just get some good brainstorming for all sorts of frenchy and toasty ideas, just know, you will never have to feel bad about wasting yummy buttery croissants ever again!

A couple of notes:

I tend to like my French toast more on the eggy-side. If you like the batter thinner, you can add more milk or cream. Just make sure it still coats well so that you have nice golden brown French toast instead of a soggy mess.

Don’t have orange extract or orange peel? Orange juice is another great way to achieve the citrusy flavor in this recipe.

I used to add the cinnamon and nutmeg to the egg mixture, but then it seems like the first couple French toast dipped always get all the flavor and the rest get the shaft. I prefer to sprinkle these spices over the uncooked side of the French toast right when you put them on the griddle. (You can add more orange zest this way, too, if you’d like!)

If you want to go another route with these, try almond extract instead of orange, and pair with some strawberries and whipped cream.

Orange Croissant French Toast: Quick 'N Easy Style

Course: Breakfast

Author: Christina Lakey (FoodApparel.com)

Ingredients

5-6 croissants 1-2 days old, cut in half lengthwise
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk or cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 drops orange extract optional
zest of 1/2 orange
ground cinnamon to taste
ground nutmeg to taste

Instructions

Preheat a large pan or griddle to medium heat. Coat with butter or spray with cooking spray (I prefer butter as cooking spray tends to leave gummy build-up on griddles over time).
In a large bowl (I use a broad-based Tupperware for easy dipping access), whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, extracts and orange zest.
Dip each side of the croissant into the egg mixture, letting the excess drip back into the bowl.
Place on griddle, and repeat with rest of croissants.
Sprinkle desired cinnamon and nutmeg spices over croissants on the top uncooked side before flipping.
Cook until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes per side.
Serve with powdered sugar, maple syrup, a little more orange zest on top or whatever your heart fancies!

Recipe Notes

Change it Up:
Don't have any orange extract (or even zest)? Add in a few tablespoons of orange juice get that bright citrus flavor. (You can add a little extra if you want to make it more potent - just don't make the batter so thin that it doesn't coat your bread).
Eliminate the orange and substitute a few drops of almond extract in its place. Top with strawberries and cream.
Dress it Down:
Keep this really basic by eliminating the orange and any/all of the spices.

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