Sourdough-Bread Pudding Pancakes

 

I was browsing through some food blogs, and this one caught my eye.  Its a cross between pancakes and bread pudding.  Genius, right?  I made these for a Sunday breakfast one lazy morning, and they were SO good.  My mom couldn't get over how delicious they tasted.  The reason they taste like bread pudding is because you soak bread pieces in the batter.   I thought this would cause the pancakes to be kind of soggy, but they weren't at all. The center is moist - like bread pudding, but definitely not raw or doughy (gross!). This is because you cook them at a lower setting than normal pancakes, so that everything cooks through evenly.  The last thing you want is a burnt pancakes that's wet in the middle. Ew. These wonderful creations are also very fluffy in texture due to the whopping amount of baking powder (who wants flat pancakes??).  The only thing I know that will make me not like pancakes is if they're flat.  The sauteed apples then take these pancakes over-the-top...add a dollop of butter and a big splash of maple syrup, and you'll be in heaven.  I used to think you had to have an occasion to have bread pudding, but breakfast?  That happens every day! 

Yield: 8-10 pancakes

Adapted from A Cozy Kitchen


Ingredients: 
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
1.5 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 ounces (about 7 slices) firm white sandwich bread, torn into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more for greasing


1 apple 
Cinnamon
Maple Syrup


Instructions:

1. Stir flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in small bowl to blend. 

2. Place bread in large bowl and add milk, vanilla extract and cinnamon. Let stand until bread is very soft and beginning to fall apart, stirring mixture occasionally, about 15 minutes. 

3. Add flour mixture to bread mixture and blend. Mix in eggs and 3 tablespoons melted butter. Let batter stand 15 minutes.

4. While it's sitting, cut up an apple into thin slices and place in a medium skillet.  Add a little butter, cinnamon and a dash of sugar and salt and toss. Cook for 2-4 minutes, or until soft.  Keep warm while making pancakes.

5. Preheat a griddle to a medium low setting (about 325 degrees).  Grease with butter.  Drop batter by 1/4 cupfuls into skillet. Cook pancakes until bubbles form on surface and bottoms are brown, about 2 minutes. Turn pancakes over; cook until cooked through and brown on bottom, about 2 minutes longer. Repeat with remaining batter, adding more butter to skillet as needed.

Serve pancakes with a dollop of butter, pure maple syrup, and sauteed apples.

Maple Peanut Butter Breakfast Bread Pudding

This is a peanut butter lover's paradise. It is my all-time favorite peanut butter recipe.  I am not even kidding you...I was practically drooling while eating it.  If you like peanut butter, you will absolutely LOVE this.  It is very peanut buttery - but hey, you can never have too much peanut butter in my opinion.  It's adapted from a recipe on peanutbutterlovers.com (yes, there really is such a website...and I happen to go on it often.  not obsessively or anything.) and I added the special topping to make it even more spectacular.  The topping is a sweet-and-salty mix from my nutella peanut butter pillows.  I wouldn't change anything about this recipe...it's so perfectly rich and full of delightful peanut butter flavor.  Definitely have a glass of milk at your side when you dig into this dish.  You'll be licking your lips and wanting more.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups cubed brioche or challah bread (cut into 3/4 inch cubes)
2/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup crushed peanuts


Garnish:
1/4 cup of finely ground, roasted (regular peanuts are fine too) peanuts (run through the food processor)
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. of ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. of sea salt


Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter four 4-ounce ramekins. Mix 1/3 cup peanut butter, eggs, sugar, milk, vanilla and salt. Toss bread cubes in mixture until thoroughly coated. Divide evenly among prepared dishes. Bake until custard is set in the middle and the top is golden, about 35-40 minutes. 


Note: If tops of bread brown too quickly, cover ramekins loosely with aluminum foil. 


While pudding is baking, blend 1/3 cup peanut butter with maple syrup; transfer to small saucepan and heat on low until thoroughly warmed.
To serve, drizzle ramekins with maple-peanut sauce and garnish.  


*If you choose not to garnish with this topping - which you really should, powdered sugar or whipped cream is good too.