French toast is a staple breakfast dish. It’s the perfect blend of sweet and savory between the crispy, egg-battered exterior and that sugar-filled drizzle of syrup. Of course, for the best French toast, you also need plenty of butter. Next time you’re looking to upgrade that French toast flavor, skip the syrup and opt for the subtle sweetness of homemade honey butter.
The French toast concept has been around since the fourth century, when Romans would make a similar recipe featuring — you guessed it — a little honey. The original style has remained pretty similar through all these years: bread was dipped in milk and egg, then cooked in oil, and coated in honey. Somewhere along the line, syrup took over (possibly in the 1700s, when French toast as we know it became popular in the United States). Now, though, it’s time to get back to this dish’s roots.
Add a little honey butter to your French toast
There is no rule that says you have to omit the syrup. If you don’t mind the extra sweetness, then drizzle some syrup on top, too. But for the perfect French toast twist with honey butter, you’ll want to brown some butter, then add it to a pan to cook those soaked bread pieces right in the browned butter. Once one side is cooked, flip it, and drizzle honey on top. As the other side cooks, that honey will soak into the toast, building that perfectly sweet flavor.
For a simpler method, you can prepare French toast as you always do and just opt not to brown the butter. Still cook the dipped bread in melted butter, then drizzle honey once it’s flipped. For a little extra buttery goodness, melt some butter and honey together right in the microwave, and drizzle over the French toast before serving. You can also ditch the skillet and bake the French toast in the oven in a dish with honey butter, which will give it that crunch on the top side while the other side absorbs the melted honey and butter for a gooey treat.
