Belle Plaine Bread - Bread Pudding Muffins Recipe

I love bread pudding muffins.

Lizzard Loves Fresh Cranberry Walnut Apple Bread Pudding Muffins

I love bread pudding that starts with leftover bread that was once delicious, but is now a crusty, rock hard mass that can't be resurrected to its original greatness. Or can it? What if you soak it in liquid and then bake it with a ton of other delightful ingredients? I promise you will never be sad, or feel guilty, about your stale, forgotten bread again.

Since this recipe calls for a good bit of stale bread; do what I do......freeze your mistakes for use later! Saw your stale bread into bite size (or slightly larger) chunks. Beware - crust will fly. You may want to wear safety goggles. Or at least sunglasses. Crusty bread bits in your eye = no fun. Put your stale bread chunks into a zip top freezer bag, ideally with a label on the outside so you don't forget what is inside, and then into the freezer.

Continue adding the bits as you have them - until you've got a full gallon size bag. That will be (roughly) the amount needed for this recipe. 

Cranberry Apple Bread Pudding Muffins

Ingredients:

7 c. stale Belle Plaine Bread cubes, cut into bite-sized pieces (Plaine Old White, Half & Half, Seeded, Multigrain, or Cinnamon Raisin Walnut make the most sense to my taste buds).

1 c. half & half or non-dairy alternative (recipe below) If you use the non dairy version, reduce the next ingredient (milk) to 2/3 cup

1 cup milk (dairy, almond, soy, whatever your pleasure)

4 eggs, lightly beaten

2/3 cup sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 tbsp. butter, melted and cooled slightly
3 tbsp. coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly (feel free to use all butter if you don't have coconut oil. It won't effect the outcome other than there won't be a hint of coconut!)

1/3 cup whole wheat OR all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tbsp. grated lemon zest (optional)

1/2 cup dried or fresh cranberries (the muffins will be more tart if you use fresh. Most dried varieties are sweetened to make them more palatable as an "out of the bag" snack).

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
1 small apple, cored and diced 
Raw sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Place rack in middle of oven. Butter or spray with nonstick vegetable spray a 12 cup muffin tin or line with 12 muffin cups. 

2. Place bread cubes in large bowl and add half & half and milk. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in beaten eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, melted coconut oil and butter.

3. In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, and lemon zest. Stir dried ingredients into bread mixture and then fold in cranberries, walnuts and apple chunks.

4. Evenly divide mixture among muffins cups. Sprinkle with the raw (turbinado) sugar.
5. Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean. Bake 5-10 minutes longer if you like your bread pudding on the drier side. Should you like your bread pudding muffins moist - take them out after 30-35 minutes!
6. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove them and place on wire rack to cool completely (or dive in & start enjoying them - who are we kidding here??). 

Lizzard Loves Dried Cranberry Walnut Apple Bread Pudding Muffins

Non-dairy Half & Half

Ingredients:

1/2 cup silken tofu

1/2 cup soy milk

Directions:

Combine in a Vitamix or blender until totally smooth and homogeneous.