Baked Apple French Toast

We get so little light this time of year, but the little we do get is so spectacular. I love to get the woodstove cranking during that limited time, so I can lift the insulated shades and let the light splash across the living room...
Returning to work tomorrow is going to be challenging. When our break started nearly two weeks ago I couldn't sleep a second past 7:00 a.m., but slowly a few minutes more each day reached a climax of rising at 10:00 a.m. yesterday morning!! Thank goodness I had made this Baked Apple French toast the night before. I was able to put the coffee on and just toss this in the oven, it was ready just in time for sunrise at 11:00 a.m.!!
Baked Apple French Toast (Print Recipe)

adapted from here, here, and here

Ingredients:

10 thick slices of Challah bread

6 eggs beaten

2 3/4 cups milk

2/3 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean scraped clean or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

4 medium apples, peeled and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup chopped and toasted pecans (optional)

Place bread in a greased (don't forget the greased part, I did!) 9x13 inch glass baking dish.

Combine eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla bean. Pour 1/2 mixture over the bread. Top with 1/2 the apples slices. Sprinkle slices with half the cinnamon and nutmeg. Top with remaining apples followed by remainder of egg mixture. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon and nutmeg over the top and dot with small pea size squares of butter. Cover and chill overnight.

The next morning bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Top with chopped pecans. Let sit for 5 minutes and serve with maple syrup.

*notes: I made half the recipe in a 7x11 inch pan and it was perfect for two of us. The next time I make this, and there will be a next time soon...I will experiment with using some sort of pralines on top. I felt like the pecans needed a little something to make them stick.