Overnight Caramel French Toast

This Christmas, my mother charged Andy and I with making brunch on Christmas day, and were more than happy to oblige her. We just went with two dishes, a layered polenta dish with marinara and wilted spinach, and a recipe for french toast that I lifted from the latest issue of Cooking Light. And if it's brunch, there have to be mimosas.

The french toast blew me away. I'd never eaten baked french toast before, but the way it gets toasty and crispy on top but stays gooey and moist (but cooked) inside. The recipe was a reader-submitted recipe, so I'd liketo say that Vanessa Johnson was a very big help for this successful brunch. I used nice crusty italian white bread, and it helped the texture immensely. This is going to be a recipe I'll use many times.

1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup butter
Cooking Spray
10 slices french bread
1 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat 5 minuites or until mixture is bubbly, stirring constantly. Pour mixture evenly into a 13x9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

2. Arrange bread slices in a single layer over syrup in dish.

3. Combine milk, flour, vanilla extract, salt and eggs in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Pour egg mixture over bread slices. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

4. Preheat oven to 350 F.

5. Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over bread.

6. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until golden. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Yield: 10 servings.