Bread Pudding

I love bread pudding with hard sauce...except my version is non alcoholic. Look for raisin bread marked down near the deli. I will buy all they have and freeze it for future use. Its usually around $3.00 a loaf...I can find it for .99 cents. If you don't have raisin bread, you can use regular bread, or even leftover pancakes or waffles. Let the bread go stale, or place in a paper bag for a couple of days to dry a little, or toast in the toaster. If you use non-raisin bread....add 1 cup of plumped raisins, 1 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp nutmeg. (To plump raisins...heat the recipe's milk and add raisins. Let sit for 20-30 minutes. Mix the milk and raisins into the recipe as directed.)

Bread Pudding:
12 slices of raisin bread (or equivalent)
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tsp vanilla
pinch salt
2 1/2 cups milk
hard sauce...recipe follows
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place a large baking pan on the center rack with 2" of water in it. Spray a square baking pan with pan spray. Tear the bread into pieces (about 1" or 2" square) and evenly spread in the pan. (If adding raisins to non-raisin bread, mix the bread pieces and raisins together now.) In a mixing bowl, combine all other ingredients. Place the bread pan in the larger pan of water. Pour the milk mixture over the bread and pat with a spoon to make sure the bread is all coated. Bake 55-60 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Serve hot or cold with hard sauce. Serves 8

Hard Sauce:
1 cup powdered sugar
4 tablespoons butter
pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup heavy cream
Sift the powdered sugar. In a separate bowl, beat the butter until slightly fluffy. Gradually add the sugar to the butter, beating well until well blended. Mix in the salt and vanilla. Add the cream and mix well. When the sauce is smooth, chill until needed.

The recipe with the raisin bread and hard sauce is 317 calories per serving. Without the hard sauce, its...225 calories.