FRENCH TOAST PUFFS

French Toast Puffs image

Provided by Food Network

Time 40m

Yield 4 to 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 15

8 ounces butter or butter alternative, preferably Earth Balance
1 to 2 tablespoons agave syrup
1 tablespoon ground ginger
Nonstick cooking spray, for the baking sheet
2 ripe bananas
3 cups oat milk
1 cup toasted coconut flakes
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
1 to 2 loaves gluten-free millet bread (or favorite bread), cut into crouton-size pieces
Maple syrup, preferably from Vermont, for serving

Steps:

For the ginger butter: Place the butter, agave and ginger in a food processor and process until smooth. (If no processor is available, you may use softened butter and whisk all ingredients instead.) The butter should have a smooth consistency, ready to be dipped into.
For the french toast puffs: Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F, using convection if available. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
Put the bananas, oat milk, coconut, sugar, cinnamon, turmeric, nutmeg, vanilla and salt in a blender and blend until smooth. If there are a few small chunks of banana, don't worry, it will add to the texture of the puffs.
Put 1 loaf's worth of bread chunks in a large mixing bowl, followed by the batter. With a spatula or fingertips, gently fold everything together. Take care not to overmix. Homogenous is boring, so we are looking for the bread to be mostly intact, moistened by the batter. Let sit for 5 minutes. The texture should now be soft and wet, not soupy (if it's soupy, add more bread).
When the correct texture is achieved, it will be easily scoopable with a golf-ball-sized cookie scoop. Scoop out all of the bread-batter mix onto the prepared baking sheet. Keep it funky and scoop larger amounts than the scoop can hold, like a scoop of hard ice cream. Bake until golden brown and crispy on the outside, 10 to 15 minutes. (Browned and slightly crunchy on the outside, and soft on the inside, is our goal.) Eat with hands, dipping into Vermont maple syrup and ginger butter.