Now that I have resurfaced into the real world after adventures in Thanksgivingland I am in full holiday swing. How many people did you celebrate with? Was it 8 people in a tiny 1 bedroom apartment? Did you also have a 22 pound turkey which left you with 10 pounds of leftovers? What’s that you say? That’s insane? Welcome to my family. My lovely family of 4 that decides that a 20-pound bird is the norm. There were some additional guests which consisted of my boyfriend’s parents and my brother’s girlfriend too. It was my first time hosting Thanksgiving. Annnnnd the first time our parents met. um, yeah. it’s kind of maybe a serious thing we got going on here. Lots of awesome people in a tiny space = fine holiday fun. I was beyond stressed and nervous the night before as I baked 2 pies and a cake in my teeeeeny kitchen. My amazing boyfriend was the best as he went out to get us a classic pre-Turkey Day feast. Of sushi. Cause that’s how we roll.
But after all the festivities and the planning, it was an amazing weekend. Even better that my Thursday started with bear-hugging a pound of legit Italian Prosciutto. My family bakes brownies. My boyfriend’s eats meat. Match made in heaven. It was such a great weekend, coupled with engagement parties, friends visiting, being a DC tourist, ending with mulled apple cider with Boardwalk Empire. WHOA. That is all I can say about that. I’m kind of nervous for the season finale. But let’s get back to more important things. Like festive treats. And pumpkin, obviously.
Are you pumpkined out? Good. Me either. But I do feel a tiny bit overwhelmed. It’s officially Christmas time and that means I have to make room for Peppermint Bark, Fudge, Gingerbread, and cookie decorating. Oh, pumpkin. Don’t be jealous. You are still my favorite, you are. In case you are still so much in love with pumpkin I bring you this tasty treat. I love bread pudding because it is so delicious and the perfect recipe for lazy people. or those that can’t won’t get rid of anything. Are you also a fiend about throwing anything out? I hate wasting things so I just freeze everything. I get that from my mom, who always says you can freeze anything. Anything. I have 20 egg whites in my freezer from all the ice cream that has been made. Those will be turned into something soon. I hope. But bread pudding. The lazy person’s fancy feast. Let’s not waste that bread that no one will eat. And let’s pour some milk, cream, and egg all over it. And let’s spice it up with the usual suspects. Well, we might as well bake it until it’s all gooey and crispy. I mean, if we have to. But now we have to eat it. If you insist. Because we don’t like wasting things. Riiiiight. That’s the reason.
I was trying to work with my amazing pumpkin bread recipe to make it better and made this horrible loaf which was too dry. I’m happy to report that my original Pumpkin Bread Recipe, that I developed over 4 years ago, is still as amazing as ever. And then I got Pumpkin Bread Pudding out of the dry pumpkin bread. Crisis averted. But you totally don’t have to use dry pumpkin bread, actually, week old pumpkin bread that is delicious will probably be awesome too. So if you are still in desperate need of your pumpkin fix, this is a perfect addition to you holiday breakfast collection.
Pumpkin Bread Pudding
*makes 6-9 servings
Ingredients
2-3 cups pumpkin bread, 2-3 days old
2 eggs
3 cups cream/milk mixture ( split this up however you want, I use 2 cups milk, 1 cup cream)
2 tbsp. maple syrup, plus more for post-baking
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
Directions
- preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- slice bread into 1-inch cubes and spread into 9×9 inch pan
- in medium sized bowl, whisk eggs, then add milk/cream, spices
- pour wet mixture over bread cubes, making sure that all pieces of bread are covered. Press with fingers until bread soaks up mixture.
- pour maple syrup over top of pan, prior to baking
- Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then pour maple syrup over and allow pudding to absorb.
The Little Red Mixer 