It's Bread Puddin' Ya'll

One of my most favoritist desserts is bread pudding, and I actually don't get to make it that much since my dad and brother hate it. So, when Dad goes out of town, I make bread pudding for Mom and I to share, and boy was this bread pudding a treat. I normally make the traditional bread pudding, but decided this time I wanted to try something new. My first intent was to make Chocolate Bread Pudding, but as I was looking for a recipe at Epicurious, I ran across another recipe that struck my fancy! Pumpkin Bread Pudding!! First off the picture looked soo good, and I'm all about pictures! Second, after reading the reviews on this recipe I was S-O-L-D. Everybody said it was the best bread pudding ever and that it was so easy to make (which it was!). So with that I headed off to the grocery store and bought me up some pumpkin puree and a baguette.

The nice thing about this recipe was that you don't have to let the darn thing sit for hours and hours. You make it, and bake it, and eat it of course! The recipe called for day old bread, but since I bought my bread that day fresh from the store I decided to improvise. I cut up the baguette, put it in a bowl and stuck it under the broiler for a few minutes to get the bread a little crispy and "stale". Just make sure to keep an eye on your bread and see to it that it doesn't get burned or too crispy. The other good thing about this recipe is that it only used 3 eggs, not the usual 6 or 8.

My first indication that this dessert was going to be phenomenal was when I tasted the "custard" batter. MMMMM, it was sweet and pumpkin-y with a hint of cinnamon and allspice. Definitely made me think of Turkey day (which, by the way, is fast approaching!!). I decided to add some cranberries and chopped walnuts to the mix, poured it over the broiler-crusted bread and dumped all that into my baking dish. Then into the oven it went, for only 30 minutes, I'm telling you this recipe is amazing! Easy to prepare, tastes great and quick cooking. When it came out of the oven my heart jumped for joy. It looked soo good and smelled absolutely amazing.

So with spoon in hand I was ready to dish up mine and Mom's treat for the night. I politely asked my brother if he wanted to try some, and to my surprise he said "yeah". Serving up three, hot, creamy, pumpkin bursting, cranberry studded, walnut dotted bread puddings was like heaven, and to top it off I add a dollop of whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce. Mom and I instantly fell in love after first bite, but the true testament came when my brother said, "whoa Steph, this is really good!!". So ya'll go out and getcha some Pumpkin Bread Pudding (you can find the recipe at epicurious.com)!