Bread Pudding Muffins...

Bread Pudding Muffins are a delicious way to use leftover stale bread. Not only do they have the wonderful flavor of bread soaked in a cinnamon flavored cream, but they also contain chunks of apple, slivers of lemon zest, and plump raisins.

The interesting part about this Bread Pudding Muffin recipe is that instead of baking the bread pudding in one large roasting pan it is baked in individual muffin tins. This makes for a very nice presentation.

What a perfect way to start the day.

A good English friend has told me it is very common all over the UK, for most kitchens to have a bowl sitting on the counter to collect leftover bread. Once the bowl is full the bread is used to make a rich and creamy bread pudding. What makes a bread pudding perfect everyday fare is that it does not use fancy ingredients; just bread, milk or cream, sugar, eggs, and some flavoring ~ like vanilla and cinnamon. And any leftover bread can be used; like French, Italian or even croissants. You can leave the crusts on or take them off. My favorite is the more sturdy French bread, crusts left on, that doesn't have too thick of a crust.

I came across this recipe some months ago and thought I'd give it a try. Since bread pudding is one of my all-time favorite desserts ~ see my recipe for Chocolate Bread Pudding ~ at first I was a bit apprehensive about a muffin. Let me tell you, these are moist & delicious. So, give them a try...

Bread Pudding Muffins
adapted from Marcy Goldman's "The Best of Better Baking"

Ingredients:
7 cups of bread cubes, cut into bite sized pieces *
1 cup half & half
1 cup milk
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
⅔ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
⅓ cup all purpose flour
½ tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
½ cup raisins or dried cranberries
1 small Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and diced



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place rack in the middle of the oven. Butter well or spray with a non stick vegetable spray a 12 muffin tin.

Place the bread cubes in a large mixing bowl and add the cream and milk. Let stand for five minutes. Then stir in the beaten eggs, sugar, vanilla, and melted and cooled butter.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, and lemon zest. Stir this mixture into the bread cube mixture and then fold in the raisins and apple chunks.

Evenly divide the mixture among the 12 muffins cups, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. Place the muffin tin on a parchment lined baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Makes 12 regular-sized muffins

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George’s notes:

• Bread pudding is a common dessert made with stale bread, soaked overnight in milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla. It is then drained and baked in the oven in a water bath, then covered in a bourbon whiskey, rum or caramel sauce and sprinkled with a dusting of sugar.
• Bread pudding made its appearance in the 13th century known as "poor man's pudding." These early bread puddings were made with water instead of cream or milk, making them inexpensive to create.

Granola Bars...

Granola bars are an excellent snack for any time of the day, but they can be expensive to purchase and some bars contain ingredients health-nuts would prefer weren't included. I usually make my own homemade Granola Bars twice a month. That way I will have a healthy alternative to reach for any time I please and it saves me money.

A few weeks back, I posted my own homemade granola, so for this recipe I use that and adapted Ina Garten’s Homemade Granola Bars recipe from “The Barefoot Contessa ~ Back to Basics” to get the right binding agent consistency and proper baking time. It works perfectly and I recommend these nutritional easy bars for your healthy snacks & quick breakfast treats.



George’s Granola Bars

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
⅔ cup honey
¼ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
4 cups Granola ~ your style

Preheat the oven to 3o0 degree F. Butter an 9 x 13 -inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper.

Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the 4 cups of granola mixture and stir well.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wet your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into bars. Serve at room temperature.

Makes 12 to 16 bars

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George’s notes:

• Granola was invented in Dansville, New York, by Dr. James Caleb Jackson at the Jackson Sanitarium in 1863. The granola was manufactured from dough that was rolled into sheets and baked. The dried sheets were then broken into pieces, baked again, and broken into smaller pieces.
• Granola was composed of Graham flour and was similar to an oversized form of Grape-Nuts. The same flour used to make graham crackers and pie crusts, among other things.