So I am already cooking for Christmas gatherings around my house! The first recipe I have for you today is from my friend Noelie who shared with me her Mom's recipe for Pineapple Bread Pudding. It is a family favorite of theirs, and it is to die for. This would be perfect for a big family Christmas gathering because it makes a HUGE pan of bread pudding and you can prepare it the night before and refrigerate it, and then just pop it in the oven before dinner (or just make it the day of, it takes no time!). I added the vanilla sauce and the coconut and it made the recipe divine. I think next time I make the sauce I will try to make a sauce with coconut milk to make it like a pina colada bread pudding.
Noelie’s Mom’s Pineapple Bread Pudding (Big Pan)
2 loaves of French bread, ripped into chunks
5 eggs
3 (12 oz) cans of evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
2 (15 oz) cans crushed pineapple, undrained
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Large box of instant vanilla pudding mix
Toasted coconut (if desired for garnish)
Vanilla Sauce (recipe follows)
Mix eggs, milk, and sugar together in a large bowl (the biggest bowl you can find!!) Then add vanilla, pudding mix, and pineapple and stir. Stir in bread chunks. Pour into a large (turkey roasting size) pan and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour. Serve warm topped with vanilla sauce and toasted coconut if desired.
For a smaller crowd, cut recipe in half and cook in a 9 x 13 inch pan. You can also make the full recipe and divide into two pans if desired. You can prep the night before and store unbaked in the refrigerator, wrapped tightly in aluminum foil, and bake just before serving.
Vanilla Sauce for Bread Pudding (from Cooks.com)
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 stick of butter
½ cup of heavy cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla
In a saucepan combine sugars, butter, and cream. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens and comes to a full boil (5-8 minutes). Stir in vanilla. Serve warm drizzled over the bread pudding.
This next recipe I saw in Southern Living magazine and I am a sucker for gingerbread recipes. I love it and have fond memories of eating it as a child when we went to visit Westville, Georgia (does anyone else remember the gingerbread and lemonade besides me?). This recipe has a twist, it is chocolate gingerbread with chocolate chips. I also added a teaspoon of cinnamon, but that is up to you. I just love the combination of cinnamon with chocolate, it gives it a little something extra. In the magazine they made it in a fancy tree-shaped Bundt pan, but I made mine in a plain, ordinary Bundt pan and it turned out just fine!
Chocolate Gingerbread Cake (from Southern Living December 2011 issue)
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup butter, softened
¾ cup packed brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
3 large eggs
¼ cup molasses
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon of confectioner’s sugar, for dusting
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat 12-cup Bundt pan (can use regular Bundt pan or decorative tree Bundt pan) with nonstick spray (I used Baker’s Joy). Sift together flour, cocoa powder, ground ginger, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugars until creamy. Beat in fresh ginger. Reduce speed to medium and beat in eggs, 1 at a time, and then molasses, scraping bowl occasionally with rubber spatula. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat just until combined, scraping down bowl occasionally with rubber spatula. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 1 hour until or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert onto wire rack and cool completely. Before serving, dust with confectioner’s sugar. Is also good warmed up with a dollop of whipped cream!
Noelie’s Mom’s Pineapple Bread Pudding (Big Pan)
2 loaves of French bread, ripped into chunks
5 eggs
3 (12 oz) cans of evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
2 (15 oz) cans crushed pineapple, undrained
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Large box of instant vanilla pudding mix
Toasted coconut (if desired for garnish)
Vanilla Sauce (recipe follows)
Mix eggs, milk, and sugar together in a large bowl (the biggest bowl you can find!!) Then add vanilla, pudding mix, and pineapple and stir. Stir in bread chunks. Pour into a large (turkey roasting size) pan and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour. Serve warm topped with vanilla sauce and toasted coconut if desired.
For a smaller crowd, cut recipe in half and cook in a 9 x 13 inch pan. You can also make the full recipe and divide into two pans if desired. You can prep the night before and store unbaked in the refrigerator, wrapped tightly in aluminum foil, and bake just before serving.
Vanilla Sauce for Bread Pudding (from Cooks.com)
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 stick of butter
½ cup of heavy cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla
In a saucepan combine sugars, butter, and cream. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens and comes to a full boil (5-8 minutes). Stir in vanilla. Serve warm drizzled over the bread pudding.
This next recipe I saw in Southern Living magazine and I am a sucker for gingerbread recipes. I love it and have fond memories of eating it as a child when we went to visit Westville, Georgia (does anyone else remember the gingerbread and lemonade besides me?). This recipe has a twist, it is chocolate gingerbread with chocolate chips. I also added a teaspoon of cinnamon, but that is up to you. I just love the combination of cinnamon with chocolate, it gives it a little something extra. In the magazine they made it in a fancy tree-shaped Bundt pan, but I made mine in a plain, ordinary Bundt pan and it turned out just fine!
Chocolate Gingerbread Cake (from Southern Living December 2011 issue)
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup butter, softened
¾ cup packed brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
3 large eggs
¼ cup molasses
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon of confectioner’s sugar, for dusting
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat 12-cup Bundt pan (can use regular Bundt pan or decorative tree Bundt pan) with nonstick spray (I used Baker’s Joy). Sift together flour, cocoa powder, ground ginger, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugars until creamy. Beat in fresh ginger. Reduce speed to medium and beat in eggs, 1 at a time, and then molasses, scraping bowl occasionally with rubber spatula. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat just until combined, scraping down bowl occasionally with rubber spatula. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 1 hour until or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert onto wire rack and cool completely. Before serving, dust with confectioner’s sugar. Is also good warmed up with a dollop of whipped cream!
I live just a few miles from Westville and LOVE their gingerbread. I managed to make a near replica the year before last, but last year couldn't find the same recipe I had used. Wish I could find another!
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