une recette, deux plaisirs délectables! Featuring the marriage between Nature's Pride and Fall Flavours....

A short drive down to Providence R.I. was a scenic treasure saturated with Autumn colours, a mesmerising sight against the heavy traffic. As the weather cools and we begin to layer ourselves with sweaters and scarfs, there is nothing better than waking up on a lazy weekend, with the kitchen filled with harvest aromas.


Nothing speaks more to the Fall weather than the scent of pumpkin, and the inspiration from the colour of Autumn leaves led to a recipe that brings the perfect union between french toast and this orange gourd-like squash. The fluffy cloud texture of french toasts topped with a homemade crunchy Pumpkin Spiced Butter will deliver a harmony on your palate.


If the image of this delectable "Harvest Toast" doesn't inspire you to try this recipe, well I will let slip of this little secret. For those who often stack away the ends of bread in your freezers, or worse, in our landfields, all it takes is just adding one extra ingredient to this Harvest Toast recipe (plus baking time) and your cookie jars will be visited often by your cookie monsters, devouring the treats within!


~ Recipes ~

"Harvest Toast"
Serves 6

12 slices of Nature's Pride bread (works great with both the Hearty and Soft Breads)
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
Juice and zest of 1 medium orange, (about 1/4 cup)
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter - for searing toasts
1/2 cup whole pecans
Pumpkin Spiced Butter - see recipe below

To serve:
Dried Cranberries
Pure maple syrup
Powdered sugar
Ginger ice cream

1. Whisk together eggs, milk, juice, vanilla, sugar, zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a bowl; set aside
2. Spread a thin layer of Pumpkin Spiced Butter (see recipe below) between 2 slices of bread to form 6 sandwiches
3. Place sandwiches in a shallow baking dish large enough to hold in a single layer. Pour egg mixture over sandwiches and allow them to marinate until they are soaked through
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
5. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. Fry 2 sandwiches at a time until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a foiled baking sheet large enough to hold all sandwiches in a single layer. Wipe skillet, and repeat with remaining butter and sandwiches
6. Evenly spread the remaining Pumpkin Spiced Butter over the 6 sandwiches. Sprinkle with whole pecans and place it in the 400 degrees oven for 3-5 minutes or until the butter turns golden brown and crispy
7. Serve the toasts with a generous sprinkling of dried cranberries, drizzle with pure maple syrup and dust with powdered sugar for an elegant finish. This toast is also delightful with a scoop of ginger ice cream as an after dinner treat.


Pumpkin Spiced Butter Recipe:
Serves 6

80g unsalted butter - soften
90g sugar
pinch of salt
2 large eggs
120g unsweetened desiccated coconut
40g almond powder
200g pumpkin butter
1/2 ts pumpkin pie spices

1. Cream butter and sugar in mixer until light and fluffy
2. Scrape down the side of the mixing bowl with a spatula and add eggs while mixer is on low, one at a time, until completely incorporated
3. Scrape down the sides again and mix in the pumpkin butter and pumpkin pie spices
4. Add coconut and almond powder and allow to mix until incorporated


"Harvest Toast - The Cookie Monster Version"
80 cookies


1 batch of Pumpkin Spiced Butter
1 1/2 cup simple sugar syrup (250g sugar dissolved in 250g water)
10 end slices of Nature's Pride Bread* - cut into 8 triangular pieces
(*regular slices also works, works great with both the Hearty and Soft Breads)
1 cup whole pecans - chopped
Powdered sugar for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Quickly dip the bread pieces into sugar syrup and squeeze out excess. Please pieces on a foiled baking sheets in a single layer
3. Spread the Pumpkin Spiced Butter on the soaked bread pieces, about 1/8" thick
4. Sprinkle chopped pecan over the buttered bread pieces. Gently press the pecan pieces into the Pumpkin Spiced Butter
5. Bake the cookies at the 350 degrees oven for 15 minutes or until just slightly golden. Rotate baking sheets half way through baking
6. Reduce the oven temperature to 200 degrees and allow the cookies to dry out in oven for 4-6 hours or overnight
7. Store cookies in your cookie jars or an air-tight container. They can be stored for up to 2 weeks.