Yield: 12 muffins
For the Muffins:
- 1 loaf of French bread, cut or torn into 1/2-inch cubes (about 12 cups of bread); I like to use one of the long French baguettes that Costco sells
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 6 large eggs
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the Cinnamon Streusel Topping:
- 1/2 cup salted butter, melted and cooled (it won't work as well if it's too hot)
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Butter and Maple Syrup, for serving, optional
DIRECTIONS:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- To make the cinnamon streusel, in a small bowl, combine cooled (but still liquid) butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Mix together with an electric mixer until you have a crumbly, wet, sand-like mixture. Divide streusel mixture in half.
- Grease a 12-well muffin tin. Add about 1/2 cup of bread cubes to each muffin well (so that each well is about half full).
- Take half of your prepared streusel mixture and sprinkle evenly over the bread cubes in each of the 12 muffin wells. Take the remaining bread cubes and put an additional 1/2-cup of bread cubes in each muffin well so that you have 12 filled muffin wells, each with about a cup of bread cubes.
- Carefully pour egg and milk mixture evenly over each muffin well. You may need to press down on the bread cubes after you pour a little mixture and then pour more. Pour slowly or you will have a mess. (You may have a little egg mixture left over. That's alright so long as all of the bread cubes are covered and saturated with liquid). Cover the muffins with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to overnight. Put your remaining streusel in an air-tight container in the fridge, as well.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the muffins from the refrigerator and sprinkle the muffins evenly with the remaining reserved half of your prepared streusel topping (crumbling it with your fingers as you sprinkle).
- Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until muffin tops are golden brown. Let muffins cool for 5 minutes. (If you try to remove them from the pan too early, they will fall apart as you take them out. If you let them set up and cool for 5 to 10 minutes, they will release as a muffin in one piece). Remove from pan and serve with butter and maple syrup, if desired.