Blueberries & Cream Stuffed French Toast

Adapted from Allrecipes

When our son was born we were given some cinnamon swirl bread from a local bakery as a gift from some of the leaders in our church.  The bread is fantastic in french toast, which has had me craving french toast a couple of times a week.  I do a pretty good job resisiting...this is only the second loaf we have bought of the cinnamon swirl bread.  Anyway the delicious bread has led me to experiment with french toast recipes and this blueberries and cream stuffed french toast is one of my favorites.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• ½ cup orange juice
• ½ tsp grated orange zest
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 8 slices cinnamon swirl bread
• 1/3 cup softened cream cheese
• ½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup milk
• ¼ cup butter or oil

Directions:

• Bring the orange juice, orange zest and maple syrup to a boil in a small saucepan; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer to keep syrup hot.
• Meanwhile, spread one side of each slice of bread with the softened cream cheese.  Press the blueberries into the cream cheese and sandwich two pieces of bread together with the cream cheese on the inside to form sandwiches; set aside.  {Note:  if you used frozen blueberries, defrost in a colander under warm water before pressing into the cream cheese.}
• Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl; whisk in milk until smooth.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Dip the sandwiches into the egg mixture allowing the egg to soak into the bread; allow excess egg to drip off.  Cook the sandwiches in the hot butter or oil until golden brown on both sides and the bread is no longer soggy, about 5 minutes per side. 
• Serve with hot orange maple syrup and any additional topping that you desire {such as powdered sugar or whipped cream.}

Note:  try substituting the blueberries for raspberries or blackberries.