Cookbook Countdown -- Bourbon Bread Pudding

This will be cookbook  #67!

on my slow, very slow countdown  of  my own

personal cookbook shelf.

I will be linking up to 

at Kitchen Flavours

I am also very excited to have found:

Cook it Up!

I need all the help I can get to keep on my cookbook challenge.

I really love  this cookbook.  It has gorgeous pictures and it really full of 

old-fashioned, from scratch, goodness.

They have a recipe for homemade 'snowballs'... the pink coconut covered chocolate cakes with cream in the middle that we all used to buy from Hostess?   Well, they make homemade ones that look great!

But, I decided to make their bourbon bread pudding.

I have no excuse really.

I don't even like bread pudding.

I think it's weird to put a bunch of old stale bread into a custard and eat it.

It's all mushy and.... mushy.

I don't like it.

Until.... I tasted this one.

And I thought I went to heaven.

Seriously.

It could have been the bourbon glaze of course, but truly it was warm golden, goodness in my mouth.

I had only had cold bread pudding in the past,  but this says, 'best served warm', so I did and it was---so. damn . darn good.

okay, so it was kind of mushy still, but it was soft and warm and sweet and buttery, and vanilla-y and bourbon-y.

Even the Handyman who hates bread pudding liked this bread pudding.

If I owned a soup restaurant called "Ahhhh---some soups", which served only soups and desserts, I would put this on my chalkboard menu.  I wouldn't have a regular printed menu--because I would be so popular I could make whatever I wanted that day and people wouldn't care and they would come for miles around---and they would LOVE IT when I had bourbon bread pudding on the menu.

Yes, I'm being silly, but it was that good.

Ingredients

• For the Pudding
• 1 1/2 pounds ciabatta, brioche, or challah, cut into 2-inch cubes (9 cups)
• 4 cups half-and-half
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 5 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup golden raisins
• For the Bourbon Glaze
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Procedures

1. 1
   Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
2. 2
   To make the pudding: Put the bread in a large mixing bowl and pour the half-and-half over it, tossing it gently to soak the bread. Let sit at room temperature while you prepare the custard.
3. 3
   In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Remove from the heat, add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla, and stir until well combined and smooth.
4. 4
   In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, then add the butter-sugar mixture, stirring until well combined and smooth. Pour the custard mixture over the bread, tossing gently to incorporate the custard and half-and-half mixture until well combined.
5. 5
   Pour the bread mixture into the prepared baking dish and spread it evenly. Sprinkle the raisins over the top and gently work them into the pudding; make sure the liquid covers the bread. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 55 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until the bread pudding is golden brown. Set the pudding aside while you prepare the glaze.
6. 6
   To make the bourbon glaze: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat and add the bourbon and confectioners’ sugar, stirring until incorporated. Add the cream and mix until smooth.
7. 7
   Pour the glaze over the top of the bread pudding and let it sit for 15 minutes before serving. The bread pudding is best served warm, but it can be refrigerated, tightly covered, for up to 4 days.