It's Apple Season!!

Upon the arrival of my new Vegetarian Times, I immediately begin to flip through the pages.  The front cover shows a delicious pasta with only 5 ingredients *i made this and it didn't turn out as delicious as the cover made it look*  I continue flipping to find this amazing bread pudding recipe.  To me, however, it sounds a bit more like a french toast bake than a bread pudding but I thought I'd venture out and try this.  While I have posted pictures of a recipe, it is not of this exact one.  Continue on below and find out my adaptation...

 

Apple Cinnamon-Bread Pudding

 

Ingredient list

Serves 12

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2    tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 Tbs. butter or margarine, melted
• 1/2 baguette, cut into 1-inch-thick slices (5 cups)
• 4 apples, peeled and quartered, each quarter cut into 4 slices (4 cups)
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 2 1/2 cups low-fat milk
•  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to broil. Coat 10-inch round casserole dish or 4 1/2-qt. Dutch oven with cooking spray. Combine sugar and cinnamon on small plate. Put melted butter in shallow bowl. Set aside.

2. Halve each baguette slice. Dip each halved slice first in butter, then in cinnamon sugar, and set cinnamon-side up on baking sheet. Set remaining cinnamon sugar aside. Broil bread slices 1 to 2 minutes, or until cinnamon sugar gets dark and bubbly on top.

3. Spread 2 cups apple slices on bottom of prepared casserole dish. Top with 2 1/2 cups bread slices, cinnamon-side down. Repeat layering with remaining apples and bread slices. 

4. Whisk together eggs, egg whites, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt in medium bowl. Whisk in milk until smooth. Pour over bread and apples. Weigh down pudding with salad plate to keep bread submerged, and let stand 1 hour in refrigerator, or overnight.

5. Preheat oven to 350°F. Sprinkle bread pudding with remaining cinnamon sugar, and bake 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until set in center and puffy and golden brown on top. Serve warm.

 

Cammie's Version:

Cinnamon Raisin French Toast and Apple Bake

Use the above recipe as your model...but...

6 cinnamon raisin bagels - cut down to about 1" chunks - brush with butter, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and broil till carmelized

Add to your liquid mixture:
3/4 c unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp cinnamon
1 extra egg
1/2 c. chai (i used the protein version from bolthouse farms)

Cover and let soak overnight.  Bake covered till bubbly. Uncover and sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top and continue baking extra 10 mins.