What’s better than French toast? Stuffed French toast

French toast made with challah is a regular weekend occurrence at my house. (Does that surprise you?) The stores near me typically stock a fresh supply of the eggy, braided bread on Fridays for the Jewish Sabbath so I pick one up then — whole-wheat when I can find it — and save most of the loaf for breakfast over the next day or so.

Brioche has a similar texture that also works well for the accompanying recipe, in case that is more readily available. Either bread is heavenly simply dipped in a mixture of egg, milk and vanilla extract, then skillet-cooked with a sprinkle of cinnamon until golden brown outside and warmed through. When you go easy on the butter and maple syrup and add fresh fruit, the dish can be healthful and balanced.

But when I want to take breakfast to the next level, I stuff the bread first. By cutting extra-thick pieces, I can easily slice a little pocket into each one to be filled with all sorts of goodies. I often go with a creamy element that melts lusciously as the toast cooks through, chopped nuts or seeds for crunch, and some kind of seasonal produce — typically fruit. In the summer I might do a combination of ricotta cheese, strawberries and almonds. But fall just begs for pumpkin. So here, I spread a mixture of whipped cream cheese, pure pumpkin puree

and warm, sweet spices in the bread pocket, then filled it further with chopped nuts, saving some to sprinkle on top at the end.

The result is a weekend treat worth cozying up at home for, full of autumnal flavor and just rich enough to hit the spot, yet still in the good-for-you zone.