Pumpkin Bread Pudding

If your family doesn’t care for pumpkin pie — or if you’re looking for a treat for breakfast or dessert over the long holiday weekend — this recipe from the Grain Foods Foundation might be appealing.

Although the recipe directs the cook to soak the bread cubes in a custard mixture for 10 minutes, you could cover and refrigerate for hours, even overnight.

I’d use whole-grain bread for added fiber and nutrition.

To lighten the recipe, use skim milk and egg substitute (3/4 cup is the equivalent of 3 eggs).

Raisins or dried sweetened cranberries can stand in for the currants, and walnuts would taste just as good as pecans.

PUMPKIN BREAD PUDDING

Yield: 8 servings

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin

3 eggs

6 cups bread cubes

1/2 cup currants

1/2 cup chopped pecans

16 pecan halves

Whipped cream or ice cream, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom and sides of a 10-by-3-inch springform pan.

In a large bowl, mix sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, milk, vanilla, pumpkin and eggs until well blended. Add bread cubes, currants and chopped pecans. Let stand 10 minutes.

Spoon mixture into pan. Arrange pecan halves on top. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes; remove side of pan. Serve warm. If desired, top with whipped cream or ice cream. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Photo courtesy of the Grain Foods Foundation and Betty Crocker.