Crock Pot Bread Pudding

I love bread pudding. I just never make it; mostly because we don’t tend to eat desserts, but also because I would eat the whole pudding and not leave any for Clyde. Not a good thing for our marriage, or my pant size!

I might make an exception this weekend though…my friend Sandy sent me a bunch of crock pot recipes, and this one for Raisin Bread Pudding sounds so easy and scrump-diddly-yumtious.

Ingredients for the pudding:

• 8 slices bread, cubed
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Ingredients for the sauce:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup of water (that’s what the recipe calls for, but I’m going to change this to 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup Late Harvest Chardonel when I make it)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Begin by making the pudding. Grease a crock pot and place the bread cubes in it. In a medium size bowl, beat eggs and milk together. Stir in the sugar, butter, raisins, and cinnamon. Pour this mixture over the bread. Cook on high for 1 hour, then on low for another 3-4 hours (or until temperature measures 160 degrees).

Just before serving, make the sauce. Begin by melting the butter and stirring in the flour until the mixture is smooth. Then slowly stir in the liquid (just the water, or the water & wine if you’re like me!), the sugar and the vanilla extract. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for a couple of minutes, or until the sauce has thickened a bit. Pour over the warm bread pudding to serve.

Butter? Sugar? Raisins? Cinnamon? Oh bread pudding, how do I love thee!

O.k., I’ll stop salivating long enough to let you know that we are definitely open this weekend and that the weather should cooperate for a drive to the countryside to visit us! I’ll make sure the fire is crackling and who knows – I might even share a piece of bread pudding with you! Cheers!