This recipe is an example of how too much of a good thing is never enough.
Case in point: Cinnamon toast.
People love cinnamon toast, and why not? It’s sweet, it’s crunchy, it’s buttery…give it a cute butt and I would date it!
But it is a side dish. Not the main event. Not sweet enough to be a dessert item or substantial enough to be a main course. If you want something with the substance of a cinnamon roll but the taste of cinnamon toast with a slight hint of pumpkin pie, this is what you are looking for:
Pumpkin Pie Praline Toast (adapted from here)
Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 dash pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup walnut pieces
4 slices sandwich bread (white is best, but wheat will do)
1. Combine the butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice. Really mash it together.
You may have to get your hands in there to make it a homogeneous paste. Also, preheat your oven to 350F.
2. Add the walnuts and mush to combine.
3. Lay your bread on a cookie sheet and pile on the spread. Make sure that it is evenly spread all the way out to the edges of the bread. Because the only thing that’s sadder than a kid with no toys on Christmas is a dry piece of cinnamon toast.
4. Put the tray in the oven. Almost immediately, the sugar and butter will start to melt, becoming dark and slick.
5. After 7 minutes, or when the mixture bubbles and turns dull, take it out of the oven and let it cool until it is only warm to the touch. It needs this time to become solid.
6. Serve with a glass of ice cold milk.
This is the best cinnamon roll substitute around. It takes only minutes to prepare and cook, but the taste is as decadent and sweet as candy that has been cooked for hours. The bread is crunchy but not rock hard, and the butter and sugar creates a crystalized topping. The sweetness is tempered by the spicy pumpkin pie seasoning, fragrant with cinnamon and nutmeg. The nuts release their buttery scent as they bake in the oven, and the dish is ideal for breakfast or even a dessert if you add some unsweetened freshly whipped cream. Top this with a few flakes of sea salt for a more complex taste.
Or just enjoy it as is, and remember what Ben Franklin said:
“Everything in moderation…including moderation.”
