Cinnamon Roll French Toast

A couple of weeks ago we treated the kids to a movie in the theater (a rarity for us) and afterwards we had lunch at one of our favorite restaurants Cracker Barrel.  While we were there my son had one of their seasonal dishes, a cinnamon roll french toast, and he loved it.  Seeing we don't eat out very often, I decided to come up with my own recipe as a surprise treat for him.

Cinnamon Roll French Toast

1 loaf of cinnamon swirl bread (ours is homemade, but store bought would be just as good)
1 recipe cinnamon roll filling (see below)
1 recipe cinnamon roll icing (see below)
3 eggs
1  C. milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
fresh grated nutmeg

Mix eggs, milk, vanilla and nutmeg is shallow bowl.  Whisk thoroughly to combine.

Dip bread slices in batter and then place on hot griddle.  Cook about 4-5 minutes, flipping halfway through, or until both sides are lightly browned and bread is cooked through.

Spread cooked bread with cinnamon roll filling.

Place bread on plates and drizzle icing over the top.

YUM!

Cinnamon Roll Filling
1/3 C. butter or margarine, softened
1 C. brown sugar
3 Tbsp. cinnamon

Mix together thoroughly. 

*This recipe can be doubled or tripled.  Store in refrigerator or freezer.
*This is the recipe I use to make cinnamon rolls or cinnamon swirl bread.  At room temperature it is easy to spread on the dough and not as messy as spreading each ingredient separately.
*Use a mixer to get the filling thoroughly mixed.

Cinnamon Roll Icing

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, softened (I use the leftover piece of butter from the filling)
2 C. powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3-4 Tbsp. water

Mix softened butter with powdered sugar.  Add vanilla and 3 Tbsp. water.  Mix well.  Add more water if you want a thinner icing.


BONUS RECIPE

After I made this I had some egg mixture and cinnamon roll filling leftover, and rather than throw it out, I made a yummy cinnamon roll bread pudding.

I took and cut up a half a loaf of bread that I had sitting around into approx. 1 inch cubes.

I layered the bread cubes and cinnamon roll filling in a greased bread pan.

I took the leftover egg batter, added 1 egg and another 1/2 C. milk, and poured it over the bread.

Let it sit for about 15 minutes to absorb the milk.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, until set and browned on top.  Drizzle icing over the top.

*You could serve this for brunch or even dessert.