This recipe is one of six recipes developed by noted food bloggers for the Peanut Butter & Co. and Stonyfield Nutty About Yogurt Recipe Contest. The recipes were created using Peanut Butter & Co. peanut butter and Stonyfield organic yogurt. The contest was a part of our 2012 yearlong initiative “Build a Better Breakfast with Peanut Butter.”

When I think of breakfast or brunch, my mind immediately wanders to the sweet side. Therefore, it was a given that the recipe I entered in this contest was going to be sweet. I settled on French toast… with a twist: individual baked French toasts stuffed with cinnamon raisin peanut butter and topped with a creamy peanut butter yogurt sauce. Peanut butter and yogurt are not only delicious when paired together, they are also protein power houses and will energize you for the remainder of the morning!

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

For the French Toast

8 slices whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread
2 large eggs, preferably organic
½ cup Stonyfield organic 0% fat French Vanilla yogurt
½ tablespoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoonpure vanilla extract
½ cup Peanut Butter & Co. Cinnamon Raisin Swirl peanut butter
1 large banana, sliced and divided

For the Peanut Butter-Yogurt Sauce

2 tablespoons Peanut Butter & Co. Smooth Operator peanut butter, heated in the microwave for 30 seconds and stirred
¼ cup Stonyfield organic 0% fat French Vanilla Yogurt

Procedure

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F

2. Lightly grease 4 individual ramekins.

3. Using a biscuit cutter or a drinking glass, cut out circles from the center of each slice of bread to fit your individual ramekins. Set aside.

4. In a pie plate, whisk together the eggs, 1/2 cup yogurt, ground cinnamon, and vanilla extract.

5. Dip a bread circle into the yogurt mixture; turn to coat both sides. Place into the bottom of a prepared ramekin.

6. Repeat step 5 with 3 more bread circles and the remaining prepared ramekins.

7. Dollop 2 tablespoons peanut butter on top of each bread circle in the ramekin. Arrange ¼ of the banana slices over the top of each.

8. Dip the remaining 4 bread circles into the yogurt mixture; turn to coat both sides of each piece. Place one bread circle into each ramekin, forming a sandwich of sorts. Gently press down on each sandwich. Evenly divide the remaining yogurt mixture between the ramekins, gently pressing down on the sandwiches again so that they absorb the liquid.

9. Place the filled ramekins onto a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.

10. While the French toast is baking, combine the Smooth Operator peanut butter and ¼ cup yogurt in a small bowl; whisk until smooth.

11. When the French toast is done, place each ramekin on a plate, and serve topped with the peanut butter-yogurt sauce. Alternately, you may remove the French toast from the ramekin before serving.