Reach For Sweet Bread And Turn Grilled Cheese Into Dessert

There are tons of ways to upgrade your classic grilled cheese, whether you're swapping out butter for mayo for crispy results or adding bacon jam to grilled cheese for a flavor explosion, there's no limit to how many tips are out there to make the best one ever. But if you're looking to go in a new direction entirely, you should consider transforming your grilled cheese into a dessert. Yup, you read that right: sweet grilled cheese.

If you're looking to appeal to your sweet tooth, whipping up a dessert grilled cheese is a unique and easy way to get the job done. To do this, just swap out your usual bread for a sweet variety like brioche or challah (which is easy to find in your local grocery store so long as you know what to look for). To completely transform your sandwich into dessert, change out classic cheddar or American cheese for something that will complement sweet bread more — so using mild cream cheese, or even its sweeter cousin, mascarpone, will go nicely.

Butter the bread as usual, add your cheese of choice, and let that all cook until golden on the stove. Once it's ready, you'll have a knock-out grilled cheese that you'll wonder how you ever lived without.

When making sweet grilled cheese, there are so many different avenues you can go down to customize it to your personal taste. When it comes to the bread, you can choose from classic sweet bread, like Hawaiian sweet rolls, or go for swirled sweet bread like raisin walnut babka. Trader Joe's even has a seasonal fall pumpkin swirl brioche that would be amazing with a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg.

After you pick your bread, you can consider different cheese varieties that could work. While mascarpone and cream cheese are obvious choices, also consider sweet-friendly options like goat cheese, brie, gouda, cottage cheese, and ricotta. All of these pair well not only with sweet bread but also with different types of fruit (another ingredient you can consider adding to your meal).

For example, imagine a classic sweet bread piled with melted brie and apples, or some goat cheese and a blueberry compote nestled between cinnamon-swirled brioche. Get a slice or two of sesame-studded challah, topped with sliced fig, walnuts, a drizzle of date syrup, fresh basil, and some crushed walnuts for crunch — and enjoy. You can also consider drizzling some honey — or even spicing things up with a bit of hot honey — to take your sandwich to the next level. Add chocolate, jam, or even some marshmallow fluff for a truly decadent dessert sandwich.