A delicious find + recipe

This is a little overdue, but I had to share this recipe that I discovered from the blog Open Mouth Insert Cookie (how great is that name?) I came across this recipe for Pumpkin Bread Pudding kind of randomly, i.e. looking at bentos. Another bento-er had linked to this lovely blog, and I knew I had to try this recipe as soon as I read it. So fall-esque! True, the weather seems to have turned towards winter for good (and about time - thanks, middle Georgia!), but I'm sharing nonetheless. =)

I made these for Thanksgiving. Everyone seemed to like them. Even my dad, who is not a bread pudding fan, ate all of his. I'll take that as a compliment.

Aaand the recipe (I deviated slightly from the original):

1/2 can (8 oz) pumpkin puree
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup cranberries

1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger
5 cups of bread cubes 

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine pumpkin, sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg until smooth. Mix in cranberries, ginger, pecans, and bread cubes. Let stand for 30 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed. I baked mine in four 4 oz ramekins and there was still some left over that I baked in a round cake pan. You could use practically any kind of pan that you want. Mine took about 30 minutes to bake. To test, simply insert a knife into the bread pudding. If it comes out clean, it's ready! Serve warm with a little whipped cream. Delicious!

Wyatt helped, of course.

He's a great helper. =)

The original recipe had raisins instead of cranberries, no nuts, no allspice, and lots and lots (and lots) of ginger. I love ginger, but others find it on the strong side, so I cut down on the amount by quite a bit. I also found 4 cups of bread cubes to not be enough - the mixture was still too liquid-y. I think it turned out nicely.

I'm a week away from being finished with the semester. I hope to have more time to blog after that - there are so many posts already in draft mode!

- Mother Nature Mom