Craving a fun and easy breakfast that both kids and adults will love? Look no further than these incredible crunchy French toast sticks, inspired by the queen of comfort food herself, the Pioneer Woman. From Ree Drummond’s popular cookbook, Come and Get It, this recipe takes the classic French toast and transforms it into dippable, delicious sticks with a unique crunchy coating. Perfect for a relaxed weekend brunch or a quick weekday morning meal, these freezer-friendly treats are a game-changer for busy families. Make a big batch, freeze them, and you’ll have a delightful breakfast or even a sweet snack ready at a moment’s notice. Trust us, these Pioneer Woman French Toast sticks will become a new family favorite.
What makes these French toast sticks stand out from the rest? The secret is in the crunchy coating! We’re not just talking about any coating – we’re using crushed Cap’n Crunch cereal combined with panko breadcrumbs to create an irresistible texture that will have everyone coming back for more. The cereal adds a touch of sweetness and a satisfying crunch that elevates these French toast sticks to a whole new level of deliciousness.
Close-up shot of Pioneer Woman French Toast Sticks stacked and sprinkled with powdered sugar, with maple syrup drizzled over the top.
For the bread, a thick-sliced bread like Texas toast or artisan bread works best. The sturdiness of the bread holds up well to dipping and coating, ensuring your French toast sticks are perfectly shaped and satisfyingly substantial. When slicing the bread into sticks, use a serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion to maintain those desirable squared-off edges. While it’s mostly for aesthetics, those clean cuts just make them look even more appealing!
Now, let’s get to the fun part – preparing the components for our crunchy masterpiece. First, you’ll need to whisk together the classic French toast custard. In a shallow dish, combine eggs, half-and-half, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. This mixture provides the rich, flavorful base that soaks into the bread, creating that signature French toast softness on the inside.
Image of whisking eggs, half-and-half, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla in a shallow dish to create the French toast batter.
Next comes the star of the show – the crunchy coating! In a separate dish, combine crushed Cap’n Crunch cereal and panko breadcrumbs. The panko adds extra crispiness while the cereal provides that unique flavor and sweetness. To enhance the flavor profile even further, we’re adding a touch more sugar and cinnamon to this mixture. Mix it all together to ensure a well-combined, flavorful coating for your French toast sticks.
Image of mixing crushed Cap'n Crunch cereal, panko breadcrumbs, sugar, and cinnamon in a pie plate for the crunchy coating.
Setting up your workstation is key for efficient and less messy French toast stick assembly. Have your bread sticks ready, the egg mixture prepared, and the crunchy coating at hand. A wire rack placed on a baking sheet is essential for allowing air to circulate around the sticks as they bake, promoting even crisping. While this process can be done solo, having a helper makes it much smoother – one person can dip the bread in the egg mixture, and the other can handle the crunchy coating.
Now for the coating process: dunk each bread stick in the egg mixture, ensuring all sides are thoroughly coated. Then, immediately transfer the soaked bread stick to the dish with the cereal and breadcrumb mixture. Press gently to ensure the crunchy coating adheres to all sides.
Image showing the process of dipping French toast sticks in egg mixture and then coating them with the crunchy cereal mixture.
Place the coated sticks on the prepared wire rack. This recipe makes a generous batch – about 36 sticks! Perfect for a crowd or for stocking your freezer. For freezer-friendly French toast sticks, flash freeze them for about 30 minutes to help the coating set before transferring them to freezer bags. This prevents sticking and ensures they bake up beautifully later. Of course, if you can’t wait, you can bake some immediately, like in the photo below!
Image of baked Pioneer Woman French Toast Sticks on a wire rack, golden brown and ready to be served.
Once baked, these Pioneer Woman French toast sticks are irresistible! A dusting of powdered sugar adds a touch of sweetness and visual appeal. And for dipping? Warm maple syrup is the classic choice and complements the crunchy, sweet sticks perfectly.
Image of a stack of Pioneer Woman French Toast Sticks with maple syrup poured generously over them.
Whether you stack them high and pour syrup over the top or serve them individually for dipping, these Pioneer Woman French toast sticks are guaranteed to be a hit. Enjoy this delightful, crunchy, and freezer-friendly breakfast treat!
Ingredients
- 12 slices Texas toast or thick sliced bread
- 6 large eggs
- 1/2 cup half-and-half
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1-1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
- 1-1/2 cups Cap’n Crunch cereal, crushed into fine crumbs
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- Powdered sugar and maple syrup for serving
Instructions
- Cut bread into three strips each.
- Crack eggs into a pie plate or similar size dish. Add the half-and-half, vanilla, 1/4 cup of the sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon. Whisk until combined and set aside.
- In a separate pie plate, stir the breadcrumbs, crushed cereal, remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon until combined. Using a fork, stir in the melted butter until the crumbs are slightly moist.
- One by one, quickly and gently dunk the bread strips in the egg mixture, turning to coat on all sides. Then lay them in the dish with crumbs turning and pressing to completely coat on all sides.
- Place the sticks on a rack set inside a baking sheet and flash freeze for 30 minutes to allow the coated surface to set. Then transfer them to freezer storage bags in groups and place back in the freezer.
- To bake the frozen sticks, preheat oven to 425 degrees F and place sticks on rack set over a baking sheet. Bake for about 15 – 18 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with warm maple syrup. (NOTE: the sticks baked at 425 were crunchier than preferred, for slightly softer sticks, bake at 375 degrees F for 18-20 minutes.)
- For baking without freezing, bake immediately at 375 degrees F for 18-20 minutes.
For more delicious and easy recipes like this, be sure to check out Ree Drummond’s cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get It! Happy cooking!
