Gingerbread-Spiced Vegan French Toast | dolly and oatmeal

i've written about how special breakfast is to me countless times probably. so, i won't bore you with describing my adoration for morning time meals again. but french toast has recently become one of my favorite AM nibbles once again! when i was a kid my dad was in charge of breakfast on the weekends, and he was awesome at them! his specialties included cheesy scrambled eggs, pancakes from the box, and challah french toast.

most times french toast was reserved for the days following rosh hashanah, the jewish new year where we always had extra pieces of the pillowy bread. he never measured the eggy batter, usually just adding a bit of milk here, and a cap-full of vanilla extract there. the toast always came out just right, and always, always tasted like perfection! my standards were pretty high, so when i went gluten-free years later, i never thought french toast would be an option since i couldn't get bread that came anywhere close to challah. but when i was developing recipes for my cookbook, i really wanted to make a vegan french toast with a slightly sweetened chickpea flour batter. i tried a couple different gluten-free breads, but finally settled on this one. while it's not challah by any means, it holds together with a wet batter, and has that doughy center that i love.

so when i was pregnant and wanted a "fancy" breakfast frank would whip up a slice for me. and now, post-pregnancy, i still crave it all the time, and i wanted to come up with a french toast that gave a nod to the holiday season. something that incorporates all the flavors we love to eat, and all the fragrances we love to smell wafting through the kitchen. so what better than a gingerbread-spiced toast. i got together with my favorite, go-to spice brand, Simply Organic - who truly have the most vibrant, robust spices that make up this homemade gingerbread spice mix. the spice recipe is enough to have extra gingerbread spice on-hand for the holiday season for whenever you want some - maybe in your coffee or tea latte, maybe in your cookies or quick bread. but hopefully for this jazzed up french toast, because honestly, it's a really good one :)

this recipe was created in partnership with Simply Organic. all thoughts and opinions, as always, are my own. thank you so much for supporting the sponsors that help to keep dolly and oatmeal going!

gingerbread-spiced vegan french toast

in my opinion, the chickpea flour-based batter is the best alternative to eggs. it's fluid, but holds together, and offers a great texture when cooked. however, if you don't have chickpea flour and don't need to be vegan, you can certainly use eggs here.

| serves 2-3 |

gingerbread spice mix

3 tablespoons Simply Organic ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon Simply Organic ground allspice
1 tablespoon Simply Organic ground ginger
1 tablespoon Simply Organic ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon Simply Organic ground cloves

french toast

1 cup chickpea flour
1/4 cup arrowroot flour
3 1/2 teaspoons gingerbread spice
pinch of salt
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tablespoon maple syrup (preferably grade b), plus more for serving
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
hearty gluten free bread or your go-to vegan bread (about 6 slices)
extra virgin unrefined coconut oil, for cooking
1 cup unsweetened coconut yogurt, for serving
2-3 tablespoons chopped pistachios, for serving

method

in a small bowl, whisk together the ground spices thoroughly. then transfer to a lidded jar and store in your pantry.
in large shallow bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, arrowroot powder, 3 teaspoons gingerbread spice, and a pinch of salt. in a separate bowl, whisk together the almond milk, maple syrup, and vanilla. whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until fully incorporated. if the batter is too thick add more milk by the teaspoon until the batter is more fluid.
heat a skillet over medium heat. once the pan is hot, add a nub of coconut oil (enough to coat the bottom of the pan), dip 1 bread slice at a time into the batter, then transfer to the pan. cook a few minutes on each side, until golden brown.
serve the french toast with yogurt, maple syrup, chopped pistachios, and a dusting of gingerbread spice.