When all the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names, Rudolph was in the kitchen, whipping up Rudolph’s Breakfast Bread Pudding! His rosy red nose and blanket of fresh snow inspired him to make a version of gooey bread pudding that is filled with tart cranberries and a brown sugary cream cheese concoction. Yum-a-lum! So, don’t let the song fool you! He’s glad he didn’t play any of the reindeer games, because now he’s a Christmas icon AND he can serve up a mean brunch he lovingly calls Rudolph’s Breakfast Bread Pudding. That’s a pretty good ending to his story, we’d say!
Ingredients
For the bread mixture:
- 12 slices white bread, cut into 1-inch-thick cubes
- 12 eggs
- 2 cups eggnog or milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the cranberry mixture:
- 3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1 cup orange juice or water
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
For the cream cheese mixture:
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- fresh mint leaves, to taste, for garnish
Directions
Step 1 –Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 2 –Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Step 3 –Place the bread cubes on a baking sheet and bake until they are slightly dried out, about 8 minutes.
Step 4 –Let the bread cubes cool completely and turn off the oven.
Step 5 –While the bread cubes are cooling, in a saucepan over medium heat, add the cranberries, the orange juice, and the brown sugar and simmer for 10 minutes.
Step 6 –Let the cranberry mixture cool.
Step 7 –While the cranberry mixture is cooling, in a medium bowl, add the cream cheese, the orange zest, 1/4 cup of the sugar, the cinnamon, and the ground cloves and beat with an electric hand mixer until it is fluffy.
Step 8 –Layer 1/2 of the cooled bread cubes into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
Step 9 –Top the bread cubes with dollops of the cream cheese mixture and the cranberry mixture.
Step 10 –Sprinkle the remaining bread cubes over the cranberry mixture.
Step 11 –In a bowl, add the eggs, the eggnog, the remaining sugar, and the vanilla and whisk until it is well-mixed.
Step 12 –Pour the eggnog mixture over the bread cubes.
Step 13 –Cover the baking dish with foil and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
Step 14 –Transfer the baking dish to room temperature and let it rest, about 45 minutes-1 hour.
Step 15 –About 15 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 16 –Bake the bread pudding, covered, for 30 minutes.
Step 17 –Carefully uncover the baking dish and bake the bread pudding until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean and the inside is hot, about 30 minutes.
Step 18 –Serve the bread pudding garnished with the mint leaves.
