Filled French Toast Waffle

I’ve made this a couple of times already, for my family, and I love it. It’s easier than easy but seems special.
When I received a coupon for a sample of Nature’s Pride bread I looked on-line about their product, because I thought, store bought bread is basically all the same. Oh ho! Not so! I found out that Nature’s Pride bread only uses natural ingredients (no artificial flavorings/preservatives) and NO high fructose corn syrup. Oroweat is the closest to this kind of philosophy, but even they use a few funny named ingredients.

Nature’s Pride gets kudos from me just based on that. The fact that it tastes this good makes me wonder: Why in the world do all those other breads use artificial ingredients?

For this I just used the basic 100% whole wheat variety, but I know you could use any of their breads. I really wanted to try the oatmeal but couldn’t find it (wouldn’t that be great? Oatmeal French Toast Waffle?). I tried to take pictures of the filling but for some reason it wouldn’t show up because of all the pressed areas of the waffle machine. You could still taste them. We loved the results. My daughter, who said, “I don’t want any” when I was cooking, started trying to eat this while I was taking the pictures. I had to swat her away to finish. Afterwards I said, “Oh, you want some?” She replied, “Yes. I LOVE french toast waffles.”
Filled French Toast Waffles

• 10 slices Nature’s Pride bread, crusts removed
• 5 Tbsp filling (recipe follows)
• 5 eggs
• 1 C milk
• 3 Tbsp maple syrup
• pinch of salt
• 1 Tbsp melted butter

1. Heat waffle iron. A 4 square Belgian iron works best here, but you can use any. Spread 1 Tbsp filling on one slice of bread and top with 2nd slice, pressing slightly. Repeat with remaining bread until you have 5 “sandwiches”.
2. Whisk together eggs, milk, maple syrup, and salt in a 9x12” glass pan.
3. Put sandwiches in the egg mixture, fitting all into the pan. After 2 minutes, flip over to the other side to soak in further. Wait 2 more minutes.
4. Brush melted butter on waffle iron.
5. Lift sandwiches out of the pan with a wide spatula, letting excess drip back into the pan. Lay a sandwich on the diagonal between 2 squares and another on the other 2 squares. Let the top of the iron fall gently down onto the bread, and the weight of it will start pressing it together. After about a minute, push completely to close the iron. Wait until the french toast is cooked, about 2-3 minutes (depending on your iron) or the color is medium brown. Serve immediately, plain or with maple syrup.

Fillings
Here are the fillings that I used:

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened, mixed with 1 tsp agave and 1/2 banana
• peanut butter and honey, mixed

Here are the fillings I am going to use next time:

• NUTELLA (why didn’t I think of this sooner?)
• Peanut butter and chocolate chips (Of course)
• jam
• cheese and jam (like a monte cristo!)
• brown sugar and butter

Can you think of an awesome filling? Please share. I will be making these a lot.
note: I received a coupon for Nature’s Pride Bread as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, but was not paid for my review or comments of their bread.