I wanted to try something a little different for Thanksgiving this year. I still made my traditional Pumpkin Pie, but I thought Pumpkin Bread Pudding might be a nice change. After reading about 10 different recipes – this is what I came up with. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
Bread Pudding Ingredients:
1 cup pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon cloves
¼ teaspoon (heaping) allspice
1 ½ cup milk
3 Tablespoons melted butter
5 cups bread, torn or cut into 1” cubes (I actually used left over rolls, but a challah or a dense egg bread would be perfect for this)
½ cup pecan pieces
For Topping:
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Directions:
Mix pumpkin, eggs, sugars, vanilla and spices together in a large bowl. Add milk slowly, whisking to fully incorporate. Add melted butter; mix well.
Add bread pieces and gently mix to be sure bread is completely soaked in mixture. Stir in pecan pieces.
Transfer to a 8 x 8 baking dish, ungreased. Mix cinnamon and sugar together; sprinkle over top.
Bake for 25 – 30 minutes, until set, in 350 degree oven.
Remove from oven, allow to cool. Can be served warm, or reheated in the microwave.
Serve with Toffee Sauce drizzled over pudding. Can be served as is, with fresh whipped cream, or with vanilla ice cream.
Directions for Toffee Sauce:
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Place the butter, sugar, and cream in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for about 3 minutes then remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. You can make this sauce in advance and simply reheat.
