Tired of the same old Pumpkin Pie every year at Thanksgiving? Unlikely, it’s hard to go wrong with Pumpkin Pie, but it can’t hurt to bring a fresh perspective to family Thanksgiving and bring something new to the table–pun not intended. What I am proposing is, you embrace your inner Rachel Ray, or Giada De Laurentiis and show your family what you’re really made of, and make a rich and delectable pumpkin bread pudding!
If you don’t know what bread pudding is, although it might sound slightly off-putting, it is quite similar to baked French toast. It is creamy, not too sweet, and even better when you throw in some pumpkin, for the last-hurrah for fall flavors. Bread pudding is best served warm with a caramel sauce on top and possibly even some whipped cream…if you’re really feeling like treating yourself and your family and Thanksgiving is the perfect excuse!
Maybe baking and cooking doesn’t fit well in your budget or schedule, but I promise this recipe is cheap to make, only takes about an hour, and you might even out-bake your grandma. This is a recipe I modified from Pinterest:
Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Pumpkin Spice Caramel Sauce
- 4 cups torn up croissants (a box of croissants is only about $4.00 at Smith’s)
- 1½ cup milk
- 1 tbsp. vanilla
- ½ tbsp. pumpkin pie spice(made up of cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and ground cloves)
- 2 tbsp. butter, melted
- 2 eggs
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup pumpkin
- 1 tbsp. cinnamon sugar
Pumpkin Spice Caramel sauce
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 milk
- 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 1tsp. baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- oven to 375. Grease an 8×8 pan, or 4 ramekins. Spread the torn up bread in the pan or ramekins.
- In a separate bowl, combine milk, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, butter, eggs, salt, sugar, and pumpkin and whisk until smooth and well combined.
- Slowly pour pumpkin mixture over croissants, pressing down to submerge the bread.
- Top each ramekin with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar.
- Bake bread pudding for 30-40 minutes or until set and browning on top and the sugar caramelizes
- Let cool about 10 minutes before diving in and top with caramel sauce.
Caramel sauce:
- While the bread pudding is baking, melt 1/2 cup butter over medium high heat in a small saucepan. Add 1/2 cup packed brown sugar and 1/4 cup heavy cream, whisking until sugar dissolves and sauce is heated through, stir in vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and baking soda and let boil for about a minute while stirring, then turn off heat and serve warm on the bread pudding.
the original recipe: http://www.jessicanwood.com/2015/11/20/pumpkin-bread-pudding/
Take a chance and do a little something out of the ordinary this Thanksgiving for your family to be impressed with, it is a guaranteed crowd pleaser!