Butterscotch Raisin Cinnamon Bread Pudding
Custardy, full of warm cinnamon flavor, and perfectly crusty on top: there’s nothing quite like bread pudding. Perfect for these long winter days, this is one dessert that’s sure to give you all the warm cozy feels.
Bread pudding is one of my dad’s favorite treats. I remember as a little girl when my mom would baked some and it just made his day. Sinking my teeth into this warm dessert brings back many happy memories from my childhood. I even called my dad before I made this and questioned whether I should put pecans in this recipe. Since he’s the expert in all things bread pudding (ha…not really!), I got his quick input that he never had bread pudding with pecans before and prefers the simple raisin and cinnamon combination. This is one of my dad’s favorites because his dad used to make it too. I think it was one of the few desserts old PopPop Barnes made when my dad was a kid. I love when things have a story (whether it’s food, or house decor, or whatever) so I love that I’m able to share that story to my boys while they taste bread pudding for the first time.
Bread pudding is very similar to baked French toast, except that the pieces of bread are torn up smaller instead of large slices of bread. You simply make an egg and cream mix to pour over top and stick it in the oven. This can totally be eaten as breakfast. We ate ours as an after-school snack and dessert. Gotta love recipes that are versatile!
The Golden Barrel light brown sugar is the star of the show here–you can really taste that wonderful flavor both in the breading part as well as the extra drizzle of sauce on top. Finished off with a dusting of powdered sugar, this rustic-looking dish is the perfect ending on a cold day. And since pretty much all of the US is being drenched with rain these days, this is the best thing to make. It’ll be sure to warm up your day. 🙂
So whether you make this for breakfast this weekend, or a dessert for a dinner party, try this butterscotch raisin cinnamon bread pudding! It might be the beginning of your own family’s childhood memories.
- 3/4 cup Golden Barrel Light Brown Sugar
- 4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) butter
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 8 large eggs
- 1/2 cup Golden Barrel organic cane sugar
- 1 quart half and half (I used a combo of half and half, heavy cream, and almond milk)
- 1 cup raisins
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 8 cups cubed day-old bread
- Golden Barrel confectioners' sugar, for dusting
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9x13" baking dish. Pour the cubed bread into pan. Set aside.
- To make the butterscotch sauce, combine the brown sugar, butter, and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer the mixture, stirring until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is smooth in consistency. Pour 1/2 cup out to cool.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, half and half, sugar, and the cooled reserved 1/2 c. butterscotch sauce. Fold in raisins and cinnamon and pour over bread cubes, stirring to evenly coat. Cover baking with foil and bake for 35 minutes, then uncover and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until pudding is set.
- Serve with remaining (warmed up) butterscotch sauce and powdered sugar.