Banana-Craisin Bread Pudding

 

I love bread pudding, but I rarely have it.  I was excited to try Martha Stewart's recipe for bread pudding that included bananas and raisins.  This dessert was not overwhelmingly sweet...to sweeten it up, you can try using light brown sugar instead of the granulated.  Of course, I used Craisins instead of raisins because I have a bottomless bag of them from BJ's.  Loved it!

Banana-Craisin Bread Pudding
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Banana-Raisin Bread Pudding

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
• 1 1/4 cups 2% milk
• 8 slices of sandwich bread, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 large banana, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1/4 cup Craisins
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• hot water
• vanilla ice cream (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray three ramekins with baking spray; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla, salt, and sugar until combined; whisk in milk.  Add bread, banana slices, and raisins.  Toss gently to combine.  Set aside for 10 minutes to let bread absorb the liquid.  Stir occasionally.  
3. Transfer mixture to prepared ramekins.  Sprinkle a mixture of 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon on top of the three mixtures.  Place ramekins on a shallow baking pan.  Add hot water to the bottom of the pan to help the process.  >>
4. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of each comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes.  Let cool 10 minutes before serving.  Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.  >>