Start off by whisking together the bourbon, vanilla extract, orange zest, milk and eggs in a giant bowl. You can add the cinnamon now, but it finds its way to the bottom so I like to wait one more step until I sprinkle it on.

Continue to whisk until the mixture is nice and frothy. The best part about the bourbon is that it breaks everything down and creates a very rich broth. Don't worry, you won't get tipsy from this recipe since the alcohol will be cooked out of it. If you ARE looking for a boozy cocktail, check out my buddy who runs Apartment Bartender for his awesome breakfast cocktail The Fireside Chat which boasts so many of these flavors plus some black walnut bitters to really bring this drink together.

Slice up your stale french bread however you want, or if you are using whole pieces of sourdough or any other regular loaf style bread you can keep them whole if you like. Note: if you use a bread with a larger surface area you may need to make more mixture since it will soak more of it up than a baguette.

Add in your bread slices into your large bowl and toss to coat. Then, once coated, sprinkle the cinnamon all over the bread. Again, the difference here is that the cinnamon sticks to the bread rather than sinking to the bottom of the bowl and in my opinion it helps it stay on while cooking. Keep tossing the slices of bread every 2 minutes for about 10 minutes, letting the bread soak up as much of the liquid as possible.

Using 1-2tbsp of butter depending on your preference and size of the skillet, bring the pan to medium-hot heat and cook the french toast on each side for about 2-3 minutes or until they begin to brown. Then, once both sides have had some cooking time, turn off the heat and drizzle on some maple syrup. This makes it caramelize and gives it a chewy and slightly caramel-esque texture that is TO DIE FOR.

Once plated, add on some more syrup or a little more orange zest, make yourself a mimosa or a Fireside Chat and get ready to have your taste buds rocked!