We had some bananas that were perfectly ripe and I had 2 bricks of cream cheese in the fridge for no particular reason, so I decided to do a cross between my Banana Cream Pie Bars, my Cranberry Cheese Squares and my Peppermint Mocha Kahlua Chocolate Chip Cheesecake (man, that was a long, dumb title, but a delicious cheesecake!) These came out bomb... as I knew they would, because all three of those recipes are bomb!
It also helps that we live a block from a corner store... so it's quite easy to run down there and get some of those mini bottles of liqueur!
This song was on in the car the other day. I always feel like I need to smoke a pack of cloves before I attempt to sing it... heheh. Alkaline Trio - Sleepyhead. -jen
BANANA LIQUEUR CHEESECAKE BARS Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 45 minutes to cook, 1 hour to cool Difficulty: Medium Makes: 18-24 squares
Crust:
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
6 tablespoons of butter, softened
Filling:
2 large bananas, sliced into 1/4"-thick rounds
1 pound (two 8oz bricks) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs, room temp
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup banana liqueur (or 2 of the small 50ml "airplane" bottles)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9"x13" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
In a food processor, combine all of the crust ingredients and pulse several times until all flour is incorporated and mix is lumpy. Spread evenly into prepared baking dish and then press it firmly into the pan and about 1" to 1.5" up the sides with your hand. Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes. Remove and set aside. (This is called "blind baking".) Leave oven on!
While crust is baking, place softened cream cheese in a mixing bowl and beat until creamy using a stand mixer or hand mixer. Add sugar and beat until combined. Add eggs 1 at a time until combined. Then add vanilla and banana liqueur, mix until smooth and creamy.
Layer sliced bananas over crust that's been blind baked, then pour batter evenly over the top. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes until top is lightly browned and center is springy to the touch. Let cool for 1 hour, then store in the refrigerator.
Option: If you knew they were all going to be eaten right away, you could always make some homemade whipped cream (or Cool Whip, but I say go with the former!) and spread it over the entire top of the cooled dish. I knew we'd have a bunch leftover to store in the fridge and I didn't want the whipped cream to melt over them all, so I just did it per serving.
The other day I was having one of those moments where I saw a recent photo of myself and was like, "Alright, time to get a little healthier again." I'd made falafel waffles (which is fun to sing ♪♪♫), just using our Falafel Recipe and cooking it in the waffle maker with no fat; a lot better than our regular frying. That had me remembering how healthy garbanzo beans are for us and brain storming what other ways besides hummus, falafel and salads that I could use them. Several years ago, I remember coming across recipes for "dessert hummus" that tasted like chocolate chip cookie dough. I made it once back then, ate it with graham crackers or something and didn't seem real impressed with it.
BUT... I thought I could probably improve upon it and turn it into a "square" or "bar" recipe. And that's just what I did tonight! I even took the time to go through my Guilt-Free Cookie Dough Squares recipe versus one batch of the original Nestle Toll House cookie recipe to see how much healthier mine actually was. I figured they're pretty close to the same size in quantity, looking at the ingredient amounts... you might even get more out of mine than you would a batch of cookies. And mine came in 2000+ calories less than one batch of cookies, almost half as many carbohydrates and sugars, and more protein!
And the beautiful thing is... they taste exactly like raw cookie dough on tasty crust! You're getting carbs that are low on the glycemic index (at least in comparison to flour which is the main ingredient in chocolate chip cookies). That means they release their sugars more slowly in the body - they're longer lasting and they don't spike your body's glucose levels.
This recipe can also be made gluten-free and/or vegan! I used AP flour in the crust, but since you're not looking for the crust to rise, you could easily substitute a rice flour or an almond flour - I haven't tried it, but I don't foresee any issues. I also used butter, but coconut oil could be used in its place. And carob chips would be a fantastic substitute to chocolate chips!
Let's listen to The Lurkers - "I Don't Need To Tell Her". -jen
GUILT-FREE COOKIE DOUGH SQUARES Time: 40 minutes with 2 hours cooling time Difficulty: Easy Makes: 18 squares
Crust:
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
2/3 cup AP flour (or gluten-free flour - rice, almond, etc)
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons butter, softened (or coconut oil)
Filling:
2 (15oz) cans of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)
2/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (plus 1/3 cup for drizzling - optional)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare a 13"x9" baking dish with butter or non-stick cooking spray.
In a food processor, combine all of the crust ingredients except the butter. Pulse once or twice to combine. Add softened butter and pulse until all the dry ingredients are combined, no longer look dry and clumps begin to form. Turn out into prepared baking dish and using the palm of your hand, press the mixture firmly into the pan evenly, working it part-way up the sides. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and edges are just starting to get dark. Remove from oven and let cool completely (thirty minutes to an hour).
Meanwhile, combine the garbanzo beans, 1/2 cup old fashioned oats, peanut butter, 1/3 cup brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract, salt and baking soda in a food processor (I just wiped it out after doing the crust). Turn processor on high and add a little of the almond milk at a time, until mixture is smooth and reached desired consistency. You may not need to use the full 1/4 cup. Remove mixture from food processor and stir in 2/3 cup chocolate chips by hand.
Spoon the garbanzo mixture into the cooled crust and spread evenly. If you like, melt 1/3 cup chocolate chips in a small bowl for 30 seconds in microwave. Stir and microwave in 15 second increments until melted. Using a spoon, drizzle melted chocolate over the top of the cookie dough squares. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Cut into squares.
I've had a huge bag of cranberries in my freezer since Christmas (and it's April), so I decided it was about time I used them in something. I'd considered doing cranberry cheesecake, but decided to cross cheesecake with bars instead. (I like bars!) They came out so good, that I made another batch with the remaining cranberries to send with Justin to work so he could share (and double-checking my recipe writing!)
The topping and crust is a little salty, the cream cheese filling is lemony and the cranberry sauce is tart with a cinnamon and vanilla warmth. All three layers just seem to compliment each other so nicely, I was way pleased with this recipe! It's a little time consuming but I've made them twice now and they're really not that hard - you just have to dedicate some time to them.
Justin was feeling like something early from The Offspring. "Jennifer Lost The War" from their 1989 self titled album. This was actually the first time I've heard this song, I think. -jen
1.5 cups rolled oats (also known as old fashioned oats)
1 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
Cheese Filling:
8oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
zest of 1 lemon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Make the
cranberry sauce first by bringing water, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon
and salt to a boil in a large sauce pan. Add cranberries and bring back to a boil, then
lower to a steady simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring intermittently - cranberries will pop and
begin to break down. (Careful not to let it boil over!) Remove from
heat and refrigerate to cool while you continue with the other steps.
Grease a 13"x 9" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray, butter or coconut oil. Set aside.
For
the crust, combine the flour, oats, pecans, brown sugar and salt in a
mixing bowl. Stir in melted butter and coconut oil until combined and all flour is absorbed.
Mixture should be slightly clumpy but break up easily. Set aside 1.5
cups for topping but spread the remaining mixture into your prepared
baking dish, pressing it evenly into the bottom of the pan. Bake at 350
F for 15 minutes. Set aside.
While crust is baking
and sauce is cooling, make the cheese filling. Using a hand mixer or the
whipping attachment on your stand mixer, whip the softened cream cheese
on high for 2-3 minutes until very smooth. Add remaining ingredients
and mix thoroughly on high until smooth (remember to scrape the bottom).
Spread the cream cheese mixture
evenly over your baked crust. Stir in corn starch to cooled cranberry sauce, then gently dollop over
the top of the filling and gently spread it evenly with the back of a
spoon, trying not to mix it into the cheese filling. Sprinkle the
remaining flour and oat mixture evenly over the top. Bake at 350 F for
40 minutes. Let cool completely before serving. I like to refrigerate them overnight.
I went with some of my favourite folk punk - Defiance, Ohio doing "Condition 11:11". When I see the clock say that time, all I can sing in my head is, "At 11:11 every night I make wishes..." And I see the clock say 11:11 a lot. -jen
CRANBERRY PECAN MARSHMALLOW TREATS Time: 10 minutes Difficulty: Super Easy Makes: 9-16, depending on how big you cut 'em
3 tablespoons butter, plus a little extra
6 cups plain corn flakes*
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup pecans, chopped
4 cups mini marshmallows
Lightly butter a 2-quart (8"x8") baking dish with the extra butter.
In a large bowl, combine corn flakes, cranberries and pecans. Set aside.
In a medium sauce pan over low heat, melt 3 tablespoons of butter. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted and combined.
Pour over corn flake mix and mix well. (Do this part quickly!)
Pour mixture into prepared baking dish and using a spatula or your hand, press mixture firmly into pan.
Let cool. Cut and serve. You can place them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to help speed up the cooling process.
For storage, I like to wrap them individually in plastic wrap and then put them all in a ziplock. Keeps the from getting stale.
*I used a name brand that comes with little honey and oat granola clusters, the kind you love "bunches"... but being pre-sweetened, it made the squares a little on the uber sweet side.
Last year, I made Macaroons for the first time, and they were delicious. However, after making Cocadas, which are very similar, I decided I prefer the Cocadas. I love a one-bowl baking recipe! These are so fast to whip up, and they're cheap to make!
Cocadas are a traditional Latin American coconut confection. It does seem that every area has it's own version and they can come in all different flavours and styles. I didn't get too crazy, but I made some plain ones, some with pecans, some with cocoa powder in them to make a chocolate version, and some drizzled with dark chocolate. Next batch we make, Justin wants to put some diced up dried apricot in them - you can really get creative with whatever flavours you like.
Music - some O Pioneers!!! doing "Loose Lips Are The Key To A Good Foundation". -jen
COCADAS
Chocolate on the left, Pecan on the right
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes Difficulty: Super Easy Makes: About 22
3.5 cups sweetened shredded coconut
13oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
Optional Ingredients:
2/3 pecans, chopped small (optional)
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (optional for chocolate flavoured Cocadas)
4oz dark chocolate chips, melted (optional for drizzling over the tops of Cocadas)
Pecan Cocadas
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine coconut, sweetened condensed milk, egg, almond extract and salt (if using pecans and/or cocoa, add now) until well mixed. Using two spoons, drop 1.5 tablespoons of coconut mix onto parchment paper. You can leave in a rounded heap for a softer cookie, or smash the heap into a 1/2" thick disc for a crispier cookie.
Bake at 325 degrees F for 24-26 minutes. Cocadas will be slightly golden brown on top. (Careful not to burn the bottoms!) With a spatula, carefully remove from parchment and cool on a wire cooling rack for 5-10 minutes. Cookies will crisp up as they cool. (If drizzling with melted dark chocolate, drizzle over cooled cookies and allow 30-60 minutes for chocolate to cool and harden.)
I don't have anything to intro with. I had pumpkin puree in the freezer from last fall when we got a ton of sugar pumpkins from a friend. I knew I'd be home today. I felt like making muffins. They were awesome. There's not much else to say.
It's St. Patrick's Day... and there's really nothing Irish about these muffins. I mean, I'm sure they have pumpkins and muffins in Ireland, so they could be Irish. But that wasn't really my intention or anything. I'm just going to use it as an excuse for an Irish tune. Justin had Dropkick Murphys' "Good Rats" on today, so that's what I'm using. -jen
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line 12-cup muffin tin with paper cups.
In a small bowl, combine all topping ingredients, mix and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, pecans, raisins, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda, salt and orange zest. Mix to combine.
In a medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, buttermilk, vegetable oil, egg and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and fold together just until dry ingredients are moist. (Do not over-mix.)
Spoon evenly into paper cups. Sprinkle with topping and bake for 22-25 minutes, until golden brown and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes.
I had this craving for banana granola the other day and wasn't even sure if such a thing existed! Well it does now! Came out real tasty, not super sweet (we don't dig super sweet granola). So much cheaper to make your own than to buy it, even when you can get it in the bulk bins, it's not this cheap. I got all the oats, nuts, seeds and pumpkin chips out of the bulk bins at my local store and spent about $5 for the whole thing - it filled 3.5 quart-sized Mason jars. Bueno!
The thing I like about making your own granola is that you can put whatever you want in it, really. Whatever nuts you like. Whatever seeds you like. It's a good way to experiment with stuff you haven't tried before. Coconut, puffed rice, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, etc.
We've used the Bouncing Souls a few times with our recipes, but I've been listening to a lot of their later albums the last few days and it's just what's in my head. So I'm using them again. "Gasoline". -jen
Place banana chips in a quart size Ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to smack the bag and break them up a little.
In a large bowl, combine oats, broken banana chips, coconut, almonds, cashews, pecans, pepitas, flax seed, salt and cinnamon. Stir to combine.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine bananas, brown sugar, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla and sesame oil. Using a stick blender, puree mixture. (If you don't have a stick blender, you can use a food processor, a stand mixer or a hand mixer.)
Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir until completely coated. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread half of the oat mix onto each pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring the granola every 10 minutes. Granola should be golden brown. Keep an eye on it, it can start burning quickly towards the end.
Let granola cool and store in an airtight container.
Uses: mix with yogurt, eat with milk or almond milk like cereal, put in cookies, stir into your waffle or pancake batter, sprinkle on ice cream.
My friend Jonathan was talking about how he'd been sprinkling some cinnamon, cardamom and vanilla into his coffee grounds. It made me want to make up a chai spice for my own coffee. When I made it, it smelled so amazing, I knew I wanted to make cookies with it (and if you haven't noticed, I'm not big into baking.) Leaning towards a chai-spiced sugar cookie initially, I changed my mind when I saw my canister of oats. These cookies came out so chewy and awesome. Though there are 2 teaspoons of chai spice in it, the finished product is not overwhelmed by the spice. In fact, if you really wanted a spiced cookie, I'd go with 3 teaspoons instead of the 2 in the recipe!
I have no specific reason for choosing this video except that I love the Street Dogs. And this is their video for "Punk Rock & Roll". -jen
CHAI OATMEAL COOKIES Prep Time: 10 minutes plus 30 minutes to refrigerate Difficulty: Easy Makes: about 18 cookies
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temp
2/3 cups dark brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons Chai Masala (see recipe below)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1/2 cup pecans, chopped (optional)
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, brown sugar, egg and almond extract with an electric or stand mixer. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, Chai Masala, and salt. Add dry mix into wet mix until combined. Fold in oats, raisins and pecans.
Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or more.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Scoop dough into rough balls about 1-1/2" diameter. Lay 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 11-13 minutes. Allow to cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
CHAI MASALA Prep Time: 5 minutes Makes: 1/3 cup (15 teaspoons)
4 teaspoons ground cardamom
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground all spice
Whisk all ingredients together. Store in air-tight container. I'm still discovering the uses for it, but it smells amazing! I've put it in my coffee grounds pre-brewing. The oatmeal cookies were great! I've sprinkled some in a milkshake. We have a ton of apples and I'm thinking about using it to make a spicy chai apple crumble.
About four days ago, I stopped at a local fruit stand that's set up in Fernbridge, California. The apricots looked stunning, so I got a basket of them. However, even eating two and three at a time, the two of us didn't get through them fast enough and they were getting pretty ripe. So I made a bread out of their puree today. It came out pretty great! I was stoked! Firm, but moist. (Heheh...no time for that now!) It smelled a lot like pumpkin bread when it baked. I actually doubled the poppy seeds that I listed in the recipe and we both liked twice as many... but I sort of figured for the general public, halving them would be better. Tasty bread! It'd be yummy with a whipped apricot and cinnamon cream cheese! Didn't have any cream cheese though.
Man, this is some newer Anti-Flag and I'm not real familiar with their later stuff. I listened to a lot of their earlier music. But this song... it just keeps getting stuck in my head. It's catchy... despite or because of the hi-hat? I can't decide. Anti-Flag's "If You Wanna Steal". -jen
2 pounds fresh apricots, peeled, pitted and pureed until smooth
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup poppy seeds
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup chopped dried apricot
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the apricot puree, eggs, butter, vanilla, almond and mix well. Add the dry mixture and mix just until combined. Fold in poppy seeds, pecans and apricot.
Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes. Test by sticking a knife or tooth pick in the middle to make sure it comes out clean. Cool on a baking rack for 10 minutes.
I don't really get into the baking mood much, but on Christmas morning this year, I was overcome with the notorious holiday baking bug. We had two sugar pumpkins getting pretty ripe, so we cut those suckers up and roasted them, then pureed the roasted insides. I had some delicious, dark cider left over in the fridge, and thought I'd use that and mulling spices in the pumpkin bread! It was great! Not especially sweet, but very moist and spiced! I think I might make this a Christmas tradition.
And nothing says Christmas like busting out some old school Agent Orange being "Too Young To Die". (And, you know... pumpkins... orange... etc.) -jen
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously coat 2 loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
Combine brown sugar, pumpkin, eggs, vegetable oil and cider. Add flour, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, cardamom, orange zest and baking powder and mix until thoroughly combined. Stir in pecans and divide batter equally into the two loaf pans. Bake for 60 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Cool on baking rack until room temp.
Note: If you'd like to make your own pumpkin puree, quarter a sugar pumpkin and roast at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. Let cool, remove skin, and puree in a food processor or with an stick blender. A medium sugar pumpkin will yield about 2 cups of puree.
This is the only new recipe I made for Thanksgiving this year. It was a weird, rare holiday for us... we stayed home and just had dinner for two. Usually we spend it with family, or we host it at our house for friends. But we were invited to dessert and partyin' at a friend's house afterwards, so we told her we'd bring dessert. I was inclined to make something pumpkin-based, but she said her roommate was making a pumpkin dessert. So in a panic, I looked through my pantry and decided to go with peanut butter, pecans and cream cheese because that's what I had. Admittedly, I got a little inspiration from a well-known indulgent southern cook... but I changed up her boring recipe, and it came out awesome. (Plus, her cooking times were jacked up and anyone who would have used her recipe would have been eating her "cookies" with a spoon.) Mine is like a peanut butter cup crossed with cheesecake. WAY easy, too!
I'm not sure why, but I decided to go with some Gimmes for this recipe. Peanut butter is always "fun" for me, and so are the Gimmes. It was so hard to choose which song I wanted to use! But what says peanut butter more than sailing? Duh. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes playing their live cover of "Sloop John B". -jen
Prepare a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine all of the crust ingredients. Press dough into the pan, making sure it covers the entire bottom evenly and goes up the sides just a little. Bake for 15 minutes until lightly browned and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla, beating until smooth with an electric mixer. Incorporate eggs one at a time. Fold in by hand 1 cup pecans and chocolate chips and spoon over partially baked crust, smoothing it out until it's even. Bake for 40-45 minutes until edges begin to brown and the center doesn't look wet and jiggly. Let cool completely before cutting and serving.
Ha! I tried to make it fancy... but it looks pretty globby. I'm still working on the pictures, man! I only have a point-and-click camera and some shitty kitchen lighting!
I'm not much of a candy fan, but I do love English toffee. Started making it when Justin and I first lived together, but that was about 6 years ago and I haven't made much since. Until yesterday. We had picked up some coffee toffee made locally and it was black, which was awesome! Tasted great too, but it was expensive! Like $2.50 for three tiny little pieces. Knowing I could make toffee, I decided to try my hand at my own coffee toffee. It came out great (though not black). I'm still going to experiment; I don't know why I need it to be black, but I so want it to be black! This recipe only has ground beans in it, which like I said, is delicious... but I'm thinking if I put a tablespoon or two of espresso in it when cooking... it might come out black.
This song is a little throw back and I had to be cheesy and use it. More new wave than punk, I suppose. They used to play the video on MTV all the time in the early/mid 80s, and I was like six or seven years old when I decided I wanted Annabella Lwin's shaved hair style! Actually, I think I have had that hair style, only with dreads! Bow Wow Wow's "I Want Candy". -jen
COFFEE TOFFEE Prep Time: 2 minutes Cook Time: 5-7 minutes Level: Super easy! Special Tools: Candy/Oil thermometer Note: Be very careful making this. The melted butter/sugar can burn you badly and it sticks like a mofo!
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter + some for pan
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup (though I've made it without this too)
1/4 tsp Kosher salt
2 teaspoons finely ground coffee beans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. (If you don't have parchment paper, you can just generously butter the baking sheet. The bottom of your toffee will be a little buttery but it'll still be tasty!)
In a large 2-quart saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter, sugar, corn syrup, salt and ground coffee beans. Using a wooden spoon, stir over medium-high heat, bringing candy temperature to 300 degrees F (hard crack stage). Immediately remove pan from heat, quickly stir in vanilla, and spread onto parchment paper lined pan. Sprinkle pecans over the top quickly while toffee is still hot and allow to cool for about 20 minutes. Flex the pan a little and candy should release.
If you're not a fan of coffee, you can leave it out and just make plain English toffee! Sometimes I sprinkle a little course salt over the top of the toffee for that "salted caramel" flavour. Another option is chocolate. Instead of sprinkling pecans on it immediately after pouring it out, you could sprinkle chocolate chips or shaved chocolate across the top. The residual heat will melt it after a few minutes and you can spread it smooth across the top.
Made this one with pecans, salt and milk chocolate drizzle. Left the coffee beans out.
A few days ago, we helped at a spaghetti dinner cancer benefit and at the end of the night, they sent us home with three giant loaves of french bread that were left over. We used one loaf just for bruschetta, but by the second day, we were sitting on two loaves of stale bread. It was bread pudding or stuffing... and since I actually had all the other ingredients at home (from the previously posted baked pumpkin recipe), I decided to go with bread pudding. I really had wanted to use whiskey in it, but hadn't realized that Justin had finished the Jameson, so I used what we had - rum. And it was great!
We're also trying to remember to give you guys some additional information such as cook time, prep time, serving size, and difficulty level. Thought it might help.
Samiam is just who was playing while I was baking. "Full On". -jen
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously coat 2-qt baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
Combine cubed bread, apples, raisins, and pecans and place into baking dish (may come up over the edges a little, but that's okay.)
In a large saucepan, combine milk, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, rum, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Over a medium-high heat, bring just to a simmer, then turn off heat. Temper eggs by ladling about 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture into the eggs, beating constantly so they don't turn into scrambled eggs. Then pour egg mixture into milk mixture and whisk. Take wet ingredients and carefully pour over the bread mix in the baking dish. Using a spatula, gently press the bread down into the liquid so it's all saturated. Let sit for 10-20 minutes to absorb the liquid. Bake at 350 degrees F for 50-60 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9"x13" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
