Some Bread Pudding Recipes Are Over The Top

Some bread pudding recipes will just knock your socks off, well, this is one of them. In New Orleans bread pudding is a very common dessert. The slaves use to make it out of left over bread scraps. Today it has become some what of a delicacy. Once you taste it...you'll know why. This one is unique among bread pudding recipes. It would developed as a Creole dish and is still called Old Fashioned Southern Creole Bread Pudding. 

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound loaf of French bread, or about 4 to 5 cups leftover stale biscuits or bread
• 1 cup of whole milk
• 1 cup of half and half
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup of golden raisins, optional
• 1 (15 ounce) can of fruit cocktail, drained
• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted
• Whiskey Sauce

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together the milk and half and half. Tear the bread into small pieces and put into a large container for soaking. Pour the milk mixture all over the top. Let sit for about 10 minutes. Stir.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar and vanilla until well blended. Pulse the fruit in a food processor or blender to break it up, but don't puree it. Add the raisins and fruit cocktail to the egg mixture, pour over the bread and gently mix. Put the melted butter into the bottom of a 9 x 9 inch baking dish and coat the dish all along the sides and bottom. Spoon the bread pudding mixture into the dish.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for 1 hour, or until bubbly on the sides, golden brown and set in the middle. Let cool for about 5 minutes before cutting into squares. Drizzle each serving with whiskey sauce. Doubles great.

~Cook's Notes~

Some people scoff at the use of fruit cocktail in my recipe, but I say don't knock it till you've tried it. If you are really against it, use this recipe, omit the fruit cocktail and increase the eggs to 3, the butter to a half stick (1/4 cup), and the milk and half and half to 1-1/2 cups of each. That should do it.

Can substitute a wide variety of leftover breads, rolls, buns, or a combination of them. You’ll need about 4 or 5 cups of rough cut, or cubed bread.

Don't worry They'll many more bread pudding recipes to follow!