The 12 Days of Christmas, Day 11
Make your Christmas morning SIMPLE with this make-ahead show stopper. All you need to do is pop it into a preheated oven, before you unwrap gifts and it will be ready when you are.
This pumpkin pie bread pudding is a dream recipe because it is not only ridiculously simple to make, but it uses simple, inexpensive staples most everyone always has on-hand in their kitchen.
Pro tip: Always keep a loaf of stale french bread on top of your fridge or in your bread box. Its a great multi-tasker, whether for bread crumbs, bread pudding, or more.
In my fridge recently sat a lonely, partial can of pumpkin just begging to be used up. With the big holidays I try my best to prepare as many dishes in advance so that I don’t have to deal with many messes on the big day, so this was a no brainer. We don’t (yet) have a traditional breakfast which we do on Christmas mornings because our children are small and enjoy pretty much everything. This year I concluded, who doesn’t love bread pudding? It’s easy, versatile, and potentially more nutritious (or at least less unhealthy) than so many other breakfast staple options.
You will need:
9×13 casserole dish, liberally buttered
1 loaf of stale bread, cut or torn into approximate bite size pieces
1 cup melted butter
12 eggs
2 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups whole milk
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
pinch of salt
Whipped cream
Maple syrup
Toasted pecans
Directions: Cube bread and place into greased casserole dish. Drizzle melted butter over stale bread. In a large bowl, beat eggs, whip puree into eggs, then add sugar, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla, and mix until combined. Slowly incorporate milk, one cup at a time. Pour over the bread and butter. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until sides are lightly browned and a toothpick comes out mostly clean from the center.
