Nothing like a warm cinnamon-y treat to cozy up to a generous helping of vanilla ice cream. I asked my sweet hubby bunny to buy me some croissants. And...
I got two dozen.
So if any of you have some killer croissant recipes, please PLEASE email me so they don't go bad. I would hate to waste the flakey, buttery goodness that they offer.
But the reason for the rather large purchase in the first place was a recipe that I found for bread pudding. Yum. And it is {trulie} YUM.
Here's the recipe. And the
explanation of the sliced thumb and sugar burn.
Epi's Bread Pudding:
(I really wish I had taken more pictures, but there was much going on at the time. Enough said.)
What you will need:
12 large croissants, diced
1 tbsp cinnamon
7 large eggs
1 quart half-and-half
1 tbsp vanilla
2 cups sugar
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
{**I halved this and used a 9x9 pan, and it was
plenty}
What you DO:
Dice your croissants in to buttery little chunks into a large bowl.
DON'T dice your finger. My Spunky had just sharpened our knife and it was killer sharp and it got me. Good.
Add cinnamon to your diced bread and toss together.
In a separate bowl, mix eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, and sugar. Beat well.
Pour egg mixture over croissants and stir to moisten all the pieces. Let it stand for 30 minutes, then stir again.
Dice apples and add to the mixture and mix all together.
Oil a 9x13" pan.
Fill with the bread mix and pat down firmly.
Sprinkle with more cinnamon {not MORE cinnamon, as in use the wrong side of the containers' spout and DUMP the cinnamon. Definitely should NOT do.}
Bake for 30 minutes at 325 degrees.
While your scrumptious toasty bread pudding dish is baking...
you can whip up a batch of Caramel Sauce.
This was my absolute first time and it was a HUGE SUCCESS! I was so happy to learn that I do have some of my grandmother's candy-making genes after all. {*big smile*}
What you will need:
1 cup of sugar
6 tbsp butter
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Per my instructions, it tells me to grab ALL three ingredients before you begin. Why? Because it is a fast and furious few minutes and it gets kind of intense if you have to leave the stove to grab something. Believe me, you turn your head for one second and before you know it, you're flinging boiling freaking hot sugar at your finger and it instantly blisters and makes you curse a little.
Ahem..
As the directions say, and I quote:
"
Safety first-make sure there are no children under foot and you mat want to wear oven mitts; the caramelized sugar will be much hotter than boiling water."
I apparently did not heed. But really, don't let my experience scare you out of making this, because it is SO delicious.
What you DO:
Heat sugar on moderately high head in a heavy bottomed 2 or 3 quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir like mad with a whisk or wooden spoon.
As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring.
*Note: If you don't have a heavy bottom pan, add a 1/2 cup water to the sugar before you start melting to help the sugar cook more evenly. It will take a little longer since you have to let the water evaporate, before the sugar can caramelize, but it will be worth it :)
As soon as all the sugar crystals have melted, it should be a dark amber color;
like so.
Immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until it has melted.
Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat. Count to three, then slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk. The mixture will foam up once you add the butter and the cream, hence why we're using a 2-3 quart saucepan.
Whisk until caramel is smooth.
Let it cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour in a glass mason jar and let it sit to cool to room temperature.
Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Warm before serving and dripping on your delectable bread pudding like so:
Enjoy with a glass of milk, vanilla ice cream, or whipped cream.
{If it was me, it would be all three...just saying}
Enjoy {trulie}
