Cookie Butter Bread Pudding

Cookie Butter Bread Pudding - made February 17, 2018 modified from Wine and Glue

Ah, cookie butter, how do I love thee? Let me count the pounds. I also love bread pudding so it’s almost surprising I haven’t married the two together before. I pinned this recipe long ago but only just got around to making it now. Shame. Because it was delicious.

Just a couple of cautionary notes: I changed the directions slightly to temper in the melted cookie butter before you add the milk. That will help ensure the cookie butter is well blended with the eggs before you add more liquid. It’s harder to fully incorporate the cookie butter after you add the milk because it’s not as liquid-y as the milk so they don’t emulsify well together. You also want the eggs and milk to be at room temperature because if they’re cold from the refrigerator, it cools down the warmed-up cookie butter too fast and you end up with bits of cookie butter, no matter how much you whisk the mixture. 

Ultimately, it wasn’t a big deal and the cookie butter does melt into the bread pudding during baking. I also recommend soaking this overnight so the liquid will have time to be fully absorbed into the bread for that perfect bread pudding texture. This doesn’t have a strong cookie butter flavor in the bread pudding itself so you can both increase the amount of cookie butter in the custard as well as – highly recommend – melt some cookie butter and drizzle it over the top of the bread pudding once it comes out of the oven.

If you’ve never had bread pudding while it’s still lukewarm, this is a good one to start out with. The top is crisp, the bread pudding has firmed up enough not to be overly mushy and the warm cookie butter drizzled on top just sets it off. Loosen that belt and have a slice.

5 eggs, room temperature

1 cup whole milk, room temperature

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup cookie butter, warmed in microwave for 30 seconds

1/4 cup sugar

5 cups cut up challah (I used a loaf from Trader Joe's)

1. Whisk together eggs, sugar and cookie butter until well combined. Add heavy cream, milk and vanilla, whisking until mixture is uniform.
2. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Layer in bread and custard mixture, covering bread pieces completely with the liquid. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes or until completely cooked through.
4. Optional but recommended: Heat another 1/2 cup of cookie butter and drizzle over top of bread pudding. Serve warm to lukewarm.