Make Ovaltine French Toast When You Get Overwhelmed
When I was in high school, one of my friends and I would often cut gym class and go to her house for a snack. We’d make ourselves tall glasses of chocolate Ovaltine and split a peanut butter sandwich. The sandwich was always just sticky enough to affix itself to the roof of my mouth—as any good peanut butter sandwich should—so that a big swig of Ovaltine was not only relieving, but necessary in order to get to another bite of sandwich. This is the meal that inspired Ovaltine French toast, a breakfast that needs no great explanation.
The process for Ovaltine French toast isn’t much more extravagant than your average egg-soaked fried bread recipe. You basically just make a glass of chocolate Ovaltine in your mixing bowl, add peanut butter and eggs, plus a dash of allspice and vanilla. Let the mixture absorb into a few slices of bread and then fry it until golden brown These flavors may not bring you the same feelings of gym-class-skipping freedom that they brought me at age 16, but I can assure you that they’ll try their best.
Pour 1 cup whole milk into a bowl (nondairy works too) and whisk in 3 tablespoons chocolate Ovaltine. Next, whisk in 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon allspice, and a pinch kosher salt. Crack 2 eggs into the mixture, and whisk until well blended.
Heat a nonstick skillet to medium and toss in a tablespoon of butter or coconut oil. As the fat melts, soak a thick piece of white bread in the Ovaltine mixture until well coated.
Drop the soaked bread in the hot pan and cook for about 3 minutes, then flip the French toast and cook for another 2-3 minutes on the other side. If your pan is big enough, you may be able to cook 2 pieces of bread at one.
Continue soaking and cooking until you have enough Ovaltine French toast to fill you. If you’d like, drizzle a stack of toast with melted peanut butter or go classic with a glug of maple syrup. Top with a shower of Ovaltine powder, taking a deep breath as you sprinkle. Things will calm down soon.
