French Toast Casserole

1 ½ cups packed brown sugar
1 stick butter
2 T light karo syrup
1 loaf French bread cut into 1 1/2” slices
5 eggs
1 ½ cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
Chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray

Melt butter, combine with brown sugar and karo syrup, spread on bottom of 9x13 pan, add nuts if desired.

Cut up bread and place side by side in pan.

Mix eggs, milk, vanilla and pour evenly over bread slices.

Refrigerate overnight.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

When serving, use a spatula to flip each piece over so that the gooey side is facing up on the plate.

NOTES: I put the bread slices into a Ziploc freezer bag, added the egg/milk mixture and let it soak while I prepped the brown sugar mix. There was no extra egg mix later, but if there is for you, pour it on top once the bread is in the pan.

ALSO, I made a smaller batch to test and only refrigerated it for two hours before baking and it turned out fine.

Props to my buddy, Melissa Fetterhoff who stole this recipe from her mother, who stole it from someone else.

Theft is a beautiful thing.