Stuffed French Toast

Tonight the 3Cs and their parents came over for our weekly dinner. They had just returned this morning from a trip to D.C. Eating here seemed like a better idea than going to a restaurant since everyone was tired, so I decided to make breakfast for dinner. The only TV show I watch regularly is Diners, Drive-ins & Dives on the Food Network. Several months ago they featured a restaurant in Baltimore that serves Captain Crunch-coated French toast, which look yummy! So I decided to try my own variation of that tonight. I'm not a big fan of eggy French toast, so this doesn't have as many as as you might expect. We had Granola Cluster Cheerios in the pantry, not the Captain, but it worked well. I also decided to "stuff" the French toast by spreading a raspberry-cream cheese mixture between two slices of bread. Two of the 3Cs didn't eat much tonight, but their big sister and the rest of us thought this recipe was a keeper. Enjoy!

Stuffed French Toast
1 loaf ciabatta or brioche, sliced
Raspberry-and-Cream Filling
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. almond extract
4 cup cereal, crushed
Warm maple syrup

1. Spread filling on one side of half of bread slices. Top with remaining half of bread slices. Combine eggs and next 3 ingredients in a bowl. Dip sandwiches into milk mixture, and coat with crushed cereal.
2. Cook on a hot grill pan until toasted on both sides. Serve with warm syrup.

Raspberry-and-Cream Filling:
1 (8-oz.) block cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup frozen raspberries

1. Beat cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixture until creamy; gradually beat in raspberries until smooth.