Growing up, my mom’s bread pudding and my mom’s eggnog married to make the official taste of Christmas for our family. I decided to marry the two and see if I couldn’t start my own holiday tradition in my original recipe, Dawn’s Pumpkin Eggnog Croissant Bread Pudding. Well, it was a sweet and satisfying success! One person claimed it was the best thing I’d ever baked, one claimed it was the BEST thing they’d ever eaten (and they don’t even like dessert) and one claimed that it was orgas…well, you get the point. It was darned delicious and just perfect for the busy and bustling holiday season ahead!

I hope you enjoy it this holiday season as much as we did!

2/3 cup craisins (dried cranberries)
1/4 cup Captain Morgan spiced rum
6 large or 12 mini croissants (approx. 1 lb) cut into 1 inch chunks
Salted Butter to grease your baking dish
1 cup pumpkin pie filling
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup Eggnog (I prefer the Pumpkin Eggnog for this recipe but any eggnog will work)
7 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/4 (or dash) tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp (or dash) of cinnamon

*If you’re feeling extra indulgent, you can also top with vanilla bean ice cream or gelato.

1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Put the craisins in a bowl and saturate with the spiced rum.
2. Evenly distribute the croissant chunks on a cookie sheet and toast thoroughly for approximately 10 minutes. Turn them over or stir them at 5 minutes. Toast until golden brown. Let cool.
3. Set the oven temperature to 350°. Butter your 9-by-13-inch baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin pie filling with the cream, eggnog, eggs and sugar. In the buttered baking dish, toss the croissants with the craisins and rum. Pour the pumpkin mixture on top, making sure to cover all of the croissant chunks with the mixture.
4. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the center is just set; tent with foil if the top starts to brown too quickly. Let cool to warm and serve with Buttered Rum Eggnog Sauce below.

1 c sugar

1/2 c salted butter

1/2 c eggnog

1 Tbsp Captain Morgan spiced rum

Dash of nutmeg

Combine sugar, butter and eggnog and heat in small saucepan. Bring to a boil and let it boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in rum and nutmeg. Serve warm over warm bread pudding (recipe above).

 

 

 

xoxo,
BF

BF Asks: What foods and drinks signify the taste of the holidays for you?