I figured dessert would be simple and easy and I headed out to the freezer to the cookie stash, but someone had gotten to it before me. It was then I vaguely remembered invading the cookie stash for several tea and cookie afternoons. I kept searching the freezer, looking for hidden treasure, and I found 4 frozen Costco croissants leftover from New Year’s Day. They were frozen solid but still looked good.

So I thought, croissant bread pudding… of course!

Here’s where I should admit that I’m not a big fan of bread puddings. They are usually too bland, too boring and just don’t feel like dessert. I decided to create a bread pudding with great flavors and texture that I would actually like.

Chocolate is a no brainer go-to for dessert. So I started there. For this recipe, you don’t need fancy chocolate. You can use semisweet chocolate chips, chop up a chocolate bar, use anything in your pantry, but stay away from the special high cocoa count dark chocolate. You don’t need it here. Keep it simple for a great result.

In addition to chocolate flavor, I wanted some luscious texture so I added chopped moist prunes.

The individual dish was so good, I am now a bread pudding fan and can’t wait to experiment with more flavors.

You know the expression, “Necessity is the Mother of invention”? In this case, the invention turned out to be simply divine.

Chocolate is a no brainer go-to for dessert. So I started there.

Pour the egg mixture over the croissants. Allow this to sit 8-10 minutes for the croissants to aborb the liquid.

Tear croissants into 1-inch pieces and layer in the pan and set aside.

Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 minutes to brown top.

CHOCOLATE PRUNE CROISSANT BREAD PUDDING 

EVENT: Dinner with the Guys

SERVES: 6-8 People

Ingredients

8 tablespoons unsalted butter (extra butter for pan)

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 large eggs

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup whole milk

4 stale or previously frozen croissants

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, chocolate chunks or cut up chocolate bar

12-14 moist prunes, cut into eighths

Equipment

9X13 baking pan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Lightly butter the pan.

3. Tear croissants into 1-inch pieces and layer in the pan and set aside.

4. Add chocolate and prunes and mix to distribute.

5. In a food processor, combine butter and sugar and pulse until well combined. Add cinnamon and vanilla and pulse to combine.

6. With food processor running, add 3 eggs. Scrape down the sides. Add the heavy cream and milk, and pulse to combine.

7. Pour the egg mixture over the croissants. Allow this to sit 8-10 minutes for the croissants to aborb the liquid. It’s okay to push the croissants down and gently stir to be sure all the pieces evenly absorb the liquid.

8. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 minutes to brown top.

9. Allow to cool slightly and serve.

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