Eggnog French Toast

New Year's Eve. 2021 ends. The year of recovery and return. The year the vaccine arrived and the tables reopened and Carmen came back and the bakery hit pre-pandemic revenue and Isabella started nursing school and Diego printed the Anapra bakery in 3D and Camila got her chorus back and Luis Jr. proposed on the porch with a blanket and Andrea said yes and the family grew by one — not born but chosen, which is the same thing, which is exactly the same thing.

Twelve grapes. Twelve wishes for 2022. I wished for: the wedding (Luis Jr. and Andrea), the bakery (always), the hundred-thousand target (Sofia's Phase Five), the Juárez fund (growing again — four thousand five hundred now, the pandemic freeze thawed), Isabella's grades, Sofia's plans, Diego's bridges, Camila's voice, Luis's health, Carmen's health, Rosa's memory, and the twelfth grape: more. Always more. More of this. More mornings. More flour. More children at the table. More of everything that is good and warm and made by hand.

The year in numbers: revenue eighty-four thousand (up from seventy-three pandemic year). Profit fifty-four thousand. Recipe notebook: one hundred and fifty-two entries. Instagram: four thousand one hundred. Conchas made: approximately sixty-two thousand. Dog named: Concha. Engagements: one. Camila songs written: approximately forty (she counts; I've lost count). Diego projects completed: eleven. Isabella's GPA: 4.0 (nursing school, first semester). Sofia's recovery phases completed: four of five.

I made rosca de reyes dough. The tradition. The faith. The dough rising in the dark on the last night of 2021, and the rising is the faith, and the faith is the bread, and the bread is the bridge, and the bridge is Rosa, and Rosa is the New Year, and the New Year is the dough, and the dough rises, and the rising is everything.

After I pulled the rosca de reyes dough from the oven on New Year’s morning — golden, risen, impossibly perfect after proving overnight — I didn’t want to stop there. The family was already gathering: Luis Jr. and Andrea still glowing from the proposal, Isabella home from her first nursing school semester, Camila humming something new at the kitchen counter. A table that full deserves more than one sweet thing. So I made Eggnog French Toast with the last of the holiday eggnog, rich and spiced with nutmeg, because the year had been so good and the morning felt like it deserved to be celebrated twice.

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

8 slices thick-cut bread (brioche or challah preferred)
3 large eggs
3/4 cup eggnog
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
Powdered sugar, for serving
Maple syrup, for serving

Instructions

Mix the custard. In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs, eggnog, vanilla extract, nutmeg, and cinnamon until fully combined and smooth.
Heat the pan. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet or griddle over medium heat, swirling to coat the surface evenly.
Soak the bread. Working in batches, dip each slice of bread into the eggnog custard, letting it soak for about 20 seconds per side so the custard absorbs into the bread without making it soggy.
Cook the toast. Place soaked slices in the heated pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until each side is deep golden brown and the center is set. Add remaining butter between batches as needed.
Serve warm. Transfer to plates and dust generously with powdered sugar. Serve immediately with warm maple syrup on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Eggnog French Toast — The Bread That Rises on the Last Night of the Year