Bread Pudding with Hard Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 small loaf of stale french bread, cut into chunks. (I always throw leftover french bread into a bag in the freezer, and make bread pudding when there are enough scraps to be the equivalent of a small loaf.)
• 4 c milk
• 2 c sugar
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 3 eggs (lightly beaten) plus 3 egg whites
• 2 t vanilla
• 1 c raisins
• 1 c chopped pecans
• 2 t cinnamon
• 1 t nutmeg

Directions

FOR THE BREAD PUDDING

• 1
  Preheat oven to 350F and butter a 9x13 baking dish. Pour sugar and spices over bread in a large bowl. Pour melted butter over the bread and mix. Mix in milk, whole eggs, and vanilla.
• 2
  Beat egg whites to stiff peaks and fold in. Fold in nuts and raisins. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about an hour and fifteen minutes, until the pudding is puffed up and the top is golden brown. Serve warm.
• 3
  If you want to prep this ahead of time, bake for 40 minutes, cool, refrigerate uncovered overnight, then cover tightly and freeze. To finish, thaw and then bake an hour at 350F.

WHISKEY SAUCE

Cream 1 stick butter and 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until the butter is absorbed. Remove from heat and mix in 2 egg yolks. Gradually stir in 1/2 cup bourbon, stirring constantly. The mixture will thicken as it cools. Serve warm over bread pudding.

TROPICAL BREAD PUDDING VARIATION

• 1
  Add a can of crushed pineapple and a cup of shredded coconut. Substitute a can of coconut milk or pina colada mix for 2 cups of the milk.
• 2
  Reduce the cinnamon and nutmeg by half.