Innovate Your French Toast With A Nut Butter Sandwich

French toast just might be the perfect breakfast food: while it feels special and just a little bit decadent, it's easy to put together and ready in just a few minutes. As brunch fans know, there are a ton of ways to jazz up French toast, like crowing it with whipped cream and fresh fruit or using eggnog in place of milk. But if you're looking for more than just a topping swap, consider building a sandwich with your favorite nut butter first and giving the whole thing the French toast treatment.

This is basically a spin on classic stuffed French toast, which typically takes two pieces of bread, fills them with a sweetened cream cheese mixture, soaks the sandwich in egg, and fries it until golden. In this instance, though, cream cheese is replaced with peanut or any kind of nut butter you love. What's more, you can pair the salty spread with whatever your imagination dreams up — from jam to sliced fruit to chocolate — creating your own signature style of French toast.

The first thing you'll need to decide is what kind of sandwich sounds good. You can't go wrong with classic peanut butter and jelly, but peanut butter is also a winner with, say, banana and honey or marshmallow fluff. A chunky apple-cinnamon compote would be a delicious spin on the classic after-school snack of apples and peanut butter.

Of course, there are a ton of nut butter varieties out there to choose from beyond the go-to peanut. Nutella with sliced strawberries would be a delicious choice, as would almond butter with tangy apricot jam. While it's not as easy to find as peanut or almond butter, pistachio butter is a fantastic option. It would make a scrumptious sandwich paired with raspberries, peaches, or sliced figs.

Once your perfect sandwich is assembled, make a standard French toast egg dip, adding any flavorings to it that you think fit your flavor combo, like a pinch of nutmeg, some vanilla extract, or orange zest. After the bread is soaked through, grill it like you would a piece of French toast. The result should be a golden sandwich with custardy bread and warm, gooey filling. Top your masterpiece with maple syrup or powdered sugar and enjoy every bite.