Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!  What a day – I hope everyone ate very well today, I know I did.  I actually didn’t feel like I cooked that much, I had lots of helpers – including my husband who made an incredible smoked turkey on the Big Green Egg.  I can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow.

So – what did I make for Thanksgiving?  Pretty much the usual – and like I said, I had a lot of help.  My mother baked a pie and made the stuffing and gravy, my sister brought cheese from LA, my friends brought the vegetables and a delicious chocolate pecan pie, and I filled in the rest – mashed potatoes, apple pie, pumpkin bread, and don’t forget about the pre-dinner cocktails.  I did make something different last night though for dessert – something I hadn’t made in a long time (at least a couple of years) – pumpkin bread pudding.  I remember making this and absolutely loving it – not only was it easy, it tasted like you slaved over it all day, and boy was it creamy and delicious.  Since I have a house full of people to feed, I figured it was time again.  Everyone loved it – and again, it was so easy – it baked while we ate dinner, and was warmed when I served it.  Even though pumpkin season is basically over, you can make an exception for this one.

I hope everyone had a marvelous day celebrating whatever you are thankful for – I am thankful for my family and friends, the people I work with everyday, and for food – because if it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t be sitting here writing tonight…and you wouldn’t be reading this right now.

Ingredients

• 2 cups half and half
• 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
• 1 cup (packed) plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 10 cups 1/2-inch cubes egg bread (about 10-ounces)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk half and half, pumpkin, dark brown sugar, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and vanilla extract in large bowl to blend. Fold in bread cubes. Stir in golden raisins. Transfer mixture to 11×7-inch glass baking dish. Let stand 15 minutes. Bake pumpkin bread pudding until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

Serves 10-12

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here:  Pumpkin Bread Pudding