It’s back to school time, and you know what that means… breakfast in a hurry!!

Of course, it’s not always feasible to bake a homemade breakfast for every school day– I totally get tossing a granola bar in their bags on your way out the door and calling it good.

BUT I am a major proponent of making warm, delicious breakfasts that say “I love you so much I’m going to feed you butter and cinnamon and deliciously soft carbs today” more than just once in a while. There is nothing like a “special” breakfast to start the day and tell your family that you love them, and we have “special” breakfasts frequently over here.

So how do you make “special breakfast” work with an early and rushed school morning?

Overnight french toast! Make everything the night before, pop it in the oven when you wake up, and a warm, homemade, aromatic breakfast is ready in no time. Really, it’s brilliant. Major kudos to the inventor of baking french toast.

I’ve got a secret to making the softest and fluffiest french toast ever. And I’m sharing it with you, because all the kids in the world who have to lug around those ridiculously heavy backpacks deserve soft and fluffy baked french toast in the morning…

King’s Hawaiian Sweet Rolls (or any of their breads) make THE BEST french toast! Seriously. Other french toast just does not compare. They use the highest quality ingredients when making their breads to ensure optimum fluffiness and sweetness.

Which means: this stuff will melt in your mouth, and you will die of ooey, gooey breakfast happiness.

Oh! And let’s talk about the pecans and coconut for a minute here. They aren’t 100% necessary. So if you’ve got picky eaters who won’t eat coconut or pecans (I know I do!), they can be left out. But I’ve been adding coconut and pecans to everything lately, because I’m obsessed.

Another thing that is totally optional– the glaze on top. I just liked the cinnamon-roll-y feel it gives to the casserole. But also not totally necessary. You’ll still get plenty of ooey and gooey and delicious without it ;)

Enjoy!

PRINT RECIPE

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 12-ounce package King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup milk
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp additional brown sugar

optional glaze:
4 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk
Learn Basic Steps for Safe Cooking

Grease an 8x8 baking dish.
Mix together the butter and brown sugar over medium high heat until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Pour mixture into the baking dish and spread evenly.
Cut the rolls into bite-sized pieces and layer them in the baking dish over the brown sugar-butter mixture. Sprinkle the coconut and pecans over the bread pieces.
Whisk together the milk, eggs, and vanilla. Pour evenly over the bread pieces.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 8 hours (or overnight), until the bread has soaked up the egg/milk mixture.
Uncover and sprinkle brown sugar over top of the bread. Bake for 35-40 minutes (cover with foil during the last 10 minutes if bread pieces are getting too dark).
Optional glaze: whisk together the powdered sugar and milk and drizzle over top before serving