I remember going to brunch buffets with my parents and getting the most amazing French toast sticks, fried to a crispy golden brown and drenched in syrup. This was not something we had at home as Mom’s French toast was a much softer affair. But, that crispy texture has never left my memory. As an adult I found that some Ikea stores served them too- a delightful discovery after running there for essentials one morning.

To make these at home I’m not going to go to the trouble of deep frying a ton of little sticks. Instead, these oven baked French toast sticks from Ree Drummond deliver the crunch and flavor with a lot less work.

The trick to getting that wonderful texture is that these sticks, after you soak the brioche bread strips in the egg mixture, is that you roll them in cinnamon sugar.

The butter on these sticks, combined with the sugar coating, means they get super crisp in the oven.

You can dip these in syrup or serve with berries or fruit. I like them with a dollop of orange marmalade since there’s orange zest and cardamom in the egg soak that sets the stage for more complex flavor combinations.

While these aren’t health food French toast sticks by any means, they’re a lot less work than deep frying like they do in restaurants. They’re now my go-to treat for at home brunches.