Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

French toast is amazing. This french toast is to-die-for amazing. I have never had french toast with anything other than powdered sugar and syrup. Neither my husband or I needed the syrup for these because they were so tasteful on their own! I usually don't like french toast because I know it's not all that healthy for you and the syrup really makes it soggy. Well, here is a wonderful solution for those that have missed out on the amazing taste of french toast. I served this with some strawberries on the side, which were an amazing complement.

Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

Adapted from: Annie's Eats, originally Williams-Sonoma

Yields: 4 servings

For the filling:

1 cup largely chopped strawberries
2 Tbsp white sugar
4 oz. cream cheese, softened

For the toast:
4 thick slices of bread (challah or soft Italian)
1 large egg
¾ cup milk
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
unsalted butter
Syrup, powdered sugar and fresh strawberries for serving

To make the filling, combine the sliced strawberries and sugar in a medium bowl. Mix well and set aside to macerate for about 15 minutes. Stir in the cream cheese until well blended.

Meanwhile, to prepare the toast, carefully slice a pocket into the center of each slice of bread (parallel with the cut sides) almost all the way through. The easiest way to do this is when cutting the bread off of the loaf, cut a thin slice almost all the way down (for the pocket) and then move over and cut the slice of bread off.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. In a pie plate, whisk the egg and milk together. Add the melted butter and vanilla, whisking to combine. Stir in the flour, cinnamon and salt until smooth. Fill the pocket of each slice of bread with some of the filling mixture; don’t afraid to stuff until your heart’s content! Two at a time, place the filled slices of bread into the pie plate mixture, soaking for 30-40 seconds on each side. Set aside on a plate and repeat with remaining bread slices.

Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the heated skillet and allow to melt and coat the pan. Add the filled slices of bread to the skillet in a single layer. Cook until light golden brown and crisp, about 2 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining slices of bread and serve immediately.