Overnight French Toast with Buttermilk and Peaches

All the colors of the rainbow, or two of them anyway

It’s funny how long some recipes stay in your to-do folders. We saw a recipe for French toast with Grand Marnier on Epicurious ages ago and periodically think, “we still haven’t made that.” Turns out it’s from a 1995 Bon Appetit. We finally gave the recipe a go, but of course changed it to our liking. We rarely have cream in the house and never have half and half. Also, we were out of oranges and vanilla. The buttermilk gave the batter a wonderful rich tangy flavor.

What’s great about letting the bread soak in the batter overnight, is that it soaks it all up. It seems like half the batter in most recipes goes down the drain.

Overnight French Toast

• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 buttermilk
• 1/4 cup Grand Marnier
• 3/4 tsp almond extract
• 8 3/4-inch-thick sourdough bread slices
• 1-2 tbsp butter
• 3 peachs, peeled, sliced
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon sugar, plus extra for dusting
• juice from half a lemon

Whisk first eggs, buttermilk, liquor and extract in medium bowl. Dip each bread slice into egg mixture and arrange in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Pour remaining egg mixture evenly over bread. Dust with cinnamon sugar. Let stand until egg mixture is absorbed, at least 20 minutes. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, place a nonstick griddle over medium heat. As the griddle is heating up, toss peaches with 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon sugar and lemon juice, set aside. When the griddle is hot run a little pat of butter over it for flavor and to reduce sticking. (Hey, our griddle’s old!) Cook bread in batches, making sure the griddle doesn’t get too hot. Turn down the heat as needed. Brown each side, about three minutes per side. Serve topped with peaches and, if desired, maple syrup.