TWD: Oatmeal Breakfast Bread

I have been M.I.A with the TWD posts lately--sorry!  You would think that since I'm no longer at the office I would have so much free time to bake, but between time with the newborn twins and trying to get my house clean I have not been good at keeping everything going!  Definitely gonna have to work on the time management...(oh yeah, the blogs don't help....)

Well, I couldn't skip this one.  Any time that I see a baking group recipe that seems like it may be a hit w/hubs I have to make it--b/c it's so rare!  Also, I have been itching for fall to start and this recipe made me feel like it's at least a little closer.  Come on cool weather--I'm ready!!!

Also, this recipe is super quick to put together--no softening butter, no mixers.  Just pour, whisk, combine and done!  Gotta love that! I thought I was out of applesauce and was about to sub some apple butter left from the apple bread pudding but then I found a new jar in the back of the fridge!  Score!  I didn't even know I had it! (though I may have to try the recipe w/apple butter still...it intrigues me...)  I did leave out the dried fruit b/c hubs isn't a fan, and this is something I want him to try.  I also baked a full recipe in mini-loaf pans for 25 minutes and got 5 mini loaves--perfect for portioning out and freezing! 

 So how is it?  YUM!!  I love the crumble topping and the spice.  Thanks so much to Natalie of Oven Love for this easy yummy intro to fall, and check out her blog for the recipe.  Also be sure to check the Leave you Link post on the TWD blog to see who baked along this week.

TWD remixed: Allspice Crumb muffin pudding

After a week in which I baked full recipes of both the TWD allspice muffins & the MSC pumpkin patch cupcakes, I was up to my ears is spiced goodies! This is not a good thing for a lady who is trying to make better choices with my eating habits. I gave away a LOT of the cupcakes, but there were still 4 lonely allspice muffins that had gone kinda stale.

As I have mentioned before, I HATE waste, so just tossing the muffins in the trash was not an option for me. I was lying in bed this morning at the very early time of 8:30 (for me, on a saturday morning, that is VERY early) pondering the muffins. And then it hit me--use them in a bread pudding!!

I adore bread puddings and have a go-to holiday recipe for eggnog bread pudding that I created using my homemade sourdough bread (I will share that later this season). It is oh-so-yummy, and I remembered what a wonderful breakfast it makes on cold mornings! Well, it's 40 degrees outside, and 60 in my house b/c we have not turned on the heat, so I popped out of bed to make a muffin pudding!

a steaming bowl of comfort pudding :)

It came out of the oven warm and bubbly and crisp on top and I must admit that I had seconds!

And here is the (kinda) recipe, I kinda just threw it together, so I'm approximating:

4 muffins (a few days old) from Dorie's Allspice Crumb Muffin recipe (found here) cut into cubes
(I realize that this is not a real "ingredient" for people to have on hand so you could really substitute any kind of stale cinnamon swirl bread, brioche, whatever. Just add some allspice to get the full effect)
approx. 1/2 cup walnuts
1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 egg
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice.


Butter a 1 quart baking dish and fill with muffin cubes and walnuts.

Whisk together remaining ingredients and pour over the bread/nut mixture. Lightly press down the bread cubes with the back of a spoon to make sure that all the bread is covered with the liquid mixture. Leave on the counter for 30 minutes to allow bread to soak up liquid.

Preheat oven to 350', then bake the pudding for 1 hour.

I think it's yummiest right out of the oven!



And for your viewing enjoyment, here is a cold weather bulldog:

sporting the colors of her favorite team: UK