Cream cheese stuffed croissant eggnog baked French toast

Mix softened cream cheese, a little granulated sugar, a splash of vanilla and a little eggnog into a creamy filling.

Open the stale croissants like a book, smear filling inside with the back of a spoon, and lay them in a greased pan.

In a large measuring cup combine milk, eggnog and eggs.

Add a little lemon zest and orange or clementine zest, nutmeg, ground cloves, ground cinnamon, vanilla and a pinch of salt; whisk to combine.

Pour the custard over the croissants and maneuver them with a spoon so they soak it up.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least about 6 hours, ideally overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake 45 minutes.

Uncover and bake 30 to 45 minutes more (it took about 20 here); ovens vary, so watch it.

It deflates when cut; let it cool before serving so the cream cheese holds.

Variation: warm maple syrup with fresh cranberries until they burst and pour over as a cranberry syrup (not made here).