French Toast Gets 5x More Flavorful With This Fridge Staple You'd Never Thought Of

There are many ways to make French toast — some complicated, some easy and foolproof. There's also the lazy way, which is to cook it in a slow cooker, and there's also a version that doesn't use milk or eggs. But if you want French toast that delivers about five times more flavor than the typical recipe, try using a fridge staple that can make this breakfast favorite considerably tastier. Simply swap milk in any recipe for coffee creamer when preparing the custard for the bread. The milk substitute will add extra sweetness, richness, and the flavo the creamer to each bite. The result is a creamy treat with notes of French vanilla, hazelnut, mocha, or even pumpkin spice, depending on the variety of creamer used.

The swap is quite easy. For liquid coffee creamers, combine the creamer of your choice with beaten eggs and optional brown sugar, and then whisk until the mixture becomes smooth and frothy. For powdered creamers, you need to dissolve them in water or milk to form a liquid custard mixture. The ratio of creamer to eggs will mostly depend on how rich and sweet you want your toast to be (for example, two eggs need ⅔ of a cup of the creamer). Dip the bread in the mixture, and let it soak in the custard for a couple of seconds before cooking in the skillet or pan for up to two minutes on either side.

While it's easy to make a delectable homemade coffee creamer, for this hack, flavored store-bought coffee creamers are more useful, since they can serve as both the dairy component and source of additional flavoring for the custard mixture. For instance, vanilla creamer can give French toast a dessert-like taste, while hazelnut creamer can lend it a distinct nutty sweetness. Cinnamon varieties, on the other hand, can complement the warm, buttery flavors of French toast and give it depth and a woody spice note that's very familiar and appealing to many people, especially during the fall and winter seasons.

Since most coffee creamers are already sweetened, it may no longer be necessary to add any sugar to the custard mixture. But if you want your toast extra-sweet, brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup will suffice. After soaking, cook the bread slices — be it brioche, challah, or Texas toast — in a buttered skillet or pan until golden brown on either side. When serving the dish, lightly dust the toast with powdered sugar, drizzle with maple syrup, and top with a handful of berries. Follow this hack and you're guaranteed to have a much more indulgent French toast breakfast every time.