Vanilla-Bourbon French Toast

The vanilla-bourbon flavor combo is perfect for warm, cozy fall vibes, and this particular recipe is great because it keeps the sugar count relatively low compared to your typical French toast recipe. This vanilla-bourbon French toast version forgoes cream for milk, a deluge of sugar for vanilla, and a slug of bourbon. It's still a pretty French toast recipe to start your day, but at least you won't need a nap afterward.

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1 1⁄2 cups 2% milk
• 1⁄4 cup bourbon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1⁄4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 loaf of day-old country bread, preferably whole wheat, cut into 8 slices
• Butter for the pan
• Maple or agave syrup for serving

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 225°F.
2. Combine the eggs, milk, bourbon, vanilla, sugar, and nutmeg in a shallow baking dish and whisk to combine.
3. Soak each slice of bread for 30 seconds, turning once, before cooking.
4. Heat a large cast-iron skillet or nonstick pan over medium heat.
5. Melt a small pat of butter in the pan, enough to coat the surface.
6. Add 2 to 4 slices of the soaked bread and cook for about 3 minutes, until a deep brown crust forms.
7. Flip the bread and continue cooking for another 2 to 3 minutes, until golden brown and firm to the touch.
8. Keep the cooked French toast in the oven while you work through the rest of the batch.
9. Serve with warm syrup and a dusting of powdered sugar, if you like.