"Donut" Deluxe

I spend a good amount of time at the hair salon each month, with my head wrapped in foil, sitting under the dryer as I cook away my gray.  Usually, I am mindlessly flipping through pages about who made the latest fashion faux pas or what the hemlines are doing this season.  Occasionally, I will stumble onto something of interest. That was the case last week when I found a picture of an "apple donut".  It was a thick round slice of apple, core removed, slathered with peanut butter and dipped in granola to imitate the look of a sprinkled donut.  It was a quirky idea that caught my eye.  As a food stylist, I am constantly storing little nuggets like that in my memory for later use. While I enjoyed the playful approach to the snack, I kept imagining the rough assault on the roof of my mouth.  As I was making my breakfast this morning, a light bulb came on - I could create the same look with my french toast... a similar concept but with a much softer texture.  So, I cut my bread into donut shapes, sliced and cored an apple and got to work.  I sauteed the apple rounds in butter, maple syrup, and cinnamon until just barely tender. I dipped and flipped my french toast and slid each one right on top of an apple ring.  I spread a generous amount of peanut butter on the warm french toast and sprinkled it with sunflower seeds, pepitas, and raisins.  Absolutely scrumptious!  Topped with maple syrup, it was certainly better than any donut I had ever had.  Who knew that inspiration would be lurking under the warm air of a hairdryer?  I wonder where the next idea will come from....



*Tasty Trick: I used a splash of caramel coffee creamer in my french toast batter.  mmm. mmm. mmm.