Apricot Amaretto Bread & Butter Pudding

I love bread pudding... for breakfast, afternoon snack or dessert. 

I had a leftover loaf of Italian sliced bread from Trader Joe's.  It's a great dense bread that just said "make bread pudding with me"!

This one is creamy and delicious with almond flavoring and jam.

The fragrance of this is amazing!

 

Basically, I made jam and butter sandwiches and layered them up in a baking pan! I still wanted the cubed and crispy top, so I did top it with cubes of bread also.  

I served it with a little sauce made of warmed up apricot jam, thinned with a little Amaretto, then poured over the top.  Oh yeah... it was 'over the top'!

I was really torn over making this with Almonds and Cherry jam, or Apricot jam.  Both would be equally delicious, use what you have.  You know... got it? Cook it!

I made this the night before and let it soak up the custard overnight.  It was ready to bake in the morning for a breakfast with some overnight guests.  Add eggs and bacon, and breakfast is ready. 

One note, if you like to serve perfect squares of this bread pudding, let it sit and cool for 30-45 minutes before serving.  If you try to take it out of the oven and serve it right away, then it kinda falls apart.  Believe me, I know.  Still tastes great though. 

Makes a 9x9 pan, serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 cup apricot jam (or peach, or nectarine)..... or more.

2 cups half n' half, or whole milk

3 eggs

2/3 cup sugar

1 large loaf of dense french or Italian salad, sliced.

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 tsp almond flavoring

1/4 cup Amaretto, divided in half

Sliced bread (I cut off most of the crust...) layered up with apricot jam in between,  and butter one side of the sandwich.  Layer them up in the pan, making sure to fill in any gaps with more sandwiches cut to fit.

I could have even done a better job filling this in.... Oh well.

In a large bowl, beat the three eggs with the sugar, then add the half and half, almond flavoring and half of the Amaretto.  Pour over the top of the bread and jam.  Tell sit and soak in for at least an hour, or even over night.

Preheat the oven to 375.

Bake for about 60 minutes, or until the top starts to look golden bread.  Top with a little of the glaze (recipe below) and some sliced almonds.  Bake another 5-10 minutes until the almonds get a little golden.

Apricot Almond Glaze-

1/2 cup apricot jam

2-3 Tbsp Amaretto

In a small saucepan, warm the apricot jam until it melts, add the Amaretto and mix.  

Serve with the bread pudding.

Here's another of my favorite bread pudding recipes:

Pina Colada Bread Pudding with Rum Caramel Sauce