Slow Cooker Pumpkin Bread Pudding

More than once I have said that I tend to run a holiday behind when it comes to trying new seasonal recipes. In this case, I am three holidays behind because it was only just yesterday that I unearthed a can of pumpkin from the pantry, and remembered that I'd wanted to try a recipe for pumpkin bread pudding made in the crockpot.

With a dusting of snow on the ground, French toast is often called for, so I made a loaf of challah, made French toast for breakfast the following day, then cubed and bagged what remained of the challah, and assembled the ingredients for the bread pudding.

I loved the ease of making this in the crockpot, not to mention the spicy aroma that penetrated the house. I also really liked this version that, topped with ice cream and a drizzle of Melissa’s Cinnamon Dessert Sauce made me swoon. Mr. O-P, not a fan of pumpkin, thought the bread pudding tasted like his mother's Apple Brown Betty...except for the lack of the apples...and “weird taste of pumpkin.” Okay, you can't please everybody, but I liked it. A lot.

I found the recipe on the Simply Suzanne blog and the sauce, of course, is a part of a quartet of them (all delicious) from Melissa's Produce. 

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Slightly adapted from Simply Suzanne

8 cups day-old bread cubes (I used homemade challah)

4 eggs (I used extra-large)

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 1/2 cups half–n-half

½ cup brown sugar, packed

½ cup butter, melted

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups Caramel Bits

½ cup toasted pecans, chopped

Cut slices of day old bread into cubes.

Put the cubed bread into a buttered Crock Pot (3.5 - 4 quart size) along with caramel bits and chopped pecans.

Whisk together eggs, pumpkin, half-n-half, brown sugar, melted butter, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Pour over the cubed bread and gently fold bread cubes to coat, evenly distributing the caramel and nuts in the process.

Cook on low for 3-4 hours or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream and your favorite topping.

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