I just returned home from a week visit with my mom. I love going home, but I especially love North Georgia during the fall. Peak color is still several weeks away, but I could see the changes already taking place. This visit was just the two of us, and we had a great time catching up, shopping, cooking, and going to the apple house.
I now have two large bags of apples. Should I make applesauce or apple butter? Maybe a little of both! Before I start with that, I had to make this scrumptious apple bread pudding! I became a fan of bread pudding after trying it for the first time when I moved to the Gulf Coast. Bread pudding combines stale bread and a cinnamon custard mixture, and in this case raisins and apples. Serve with warm bourbon sauce for a delicious fall dessert! Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.
- Pudding:
- 4 c. stale bread cubes (French or Italian)
- ¼ c. raisins
- 2 c. peeled and sliced apples
- 1 c. packed brown sugar (light or dark)
- 1¾ c. milk
- ¼ c. unsalted butter
- 1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 lg. eggs, lightly beaten
- Bourbon Sauce:
- ¼ c. granulated sugar
- ¼ c. brown sugar (light or dark)
- 2 tbsp. heavy cream
- 3 tbsp. bourbon
- ½ c. unsalted butter
- For pudding:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 2-quart baking dish and set aside.
- Toss bread cubes, apples, and raisins in a large bowl, set aside.
- In a medium saucepan combine 1 c. brown sugar, 1¾ c. milk, ¼ c. unsalted butter, and cinnamon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until butter melts.
- Beat eggs in a small bowl. Add a little warmed milk mixture to eggs and stir to combine. Add egg mixture to milk and sugar mixture in saucepan and whisk to combine. Add vanilla extract. Pour mixture over bread mixture and stir to saturate bread.
- Pour into prepared baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes until center is set.
- In the meantime make bourbon sauce. In a small saucepan combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cream, bourbon, and butter. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and serve warm over bread pudding.
