Baked Apple French toast

3 large tart apples
1 stick butter, ½ cup
1 cup brown sugar
12 oz cream cheese
12 slices firm bread, your favorite
8 eggs
1 qt milk
2 Tbsp vanilla
Cinnamon
nuts, pecans or walnuts, optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Move rack to lower third of oven. Butter 9×13 baking pan.
Core and cut apples into thin wedges, leave skins on. In cast iron skillet melt butter with brown sugar and 1 Tbsp water; add apples and cook, stirring for 3 minutes or so. Transfer to prepared baking dish and let cool.
Cut cream cheese into cubes and arrange evenly over apples. Cut the slices of bread in half diagonally and layer over apples covering the whole dish.
In large bowl beat together eggs, milk and vanilla. Pour the egg mixture over the bread, make sure to dampen all the bread. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Top with chopped nuts, is using.
Bake 40 to 50 minutes, until golden and puffed. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.
Variation: use cling peaches instead of apples.