Comfort Food (Candy Apple Bread Pudding recipe)

I have been on a big comfort food binge the past week or so. Macaroni and cheese, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, chili... If it's comfort food for me, I've eaten it. I need to get back on my food plan before I put back on some of these 20 pounds I've lost. So tonight, my last comfort food recipe before I start to be "good" again: Candy Apple Bread Pudding. Yum! As if the case with me a lot of the time, I made it to use up leftover bread and an apple that was getting a little soft. I only like crispy apples and unstale bread. But how can you complain when those things past their prime can become something as wonderful and comforting as warm bread pudding with caramel sauce.

CANDY APPLE BREAD PUDDING
INGREDIENTS

 half a loaf of stale, crusty bread, diced
1 apple, cored and diced
4 tablespoons butter, melted
3 eggs
1 cup milk
Generous 1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Caramel Sauce:
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter, cubed
1/2 cup heavy cream
The caramel sauce is the trickiest part of this recipe. If you want to make it a lot easier, use caramel sauce in a jar.

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a small, deep baking dish with cooking spray. Place a 9x13 baking dish of hot water in the oven for a water bath for the bread pudding.
2) Dice bread and apples to about the same size and mix together in the baking dish.
3) Pour melted butter over the bread and apples.

4) Whisk the remaining bread pudding ingredients together. Pour over the bread and apples. Press the bread into the liquid so it is all covered and absorbs the egg mixture.

5) Place the small baking dish carefully into the hot water bath in the oven. Be careful not to touch the water; it will be HOT. Bake at 375 degrees for 60-75 minutes depending on how deep the ingredients are in the dish. The bread pudding in done when the liquid is set in the center.

6) When the pudding comes out of the oven, set aside to cool and prepare the caramel sauce.

Caramel sauce:
7) Get all of the stuff ready for the caramel sauce before you start. The process will go quickly.
8) Put 1 cup of sugar in a medium sized, heavy bottom sauce pan. Heat over medium-high heat. Do not leave the caramel sauce unattended. Stir the sugar around continuously until it just starts to melt. 
9) When the sugar begins to melt, turn the heat down to medium and do not stir anymore; the caramel will crystallize. Swish the pan around occasionally to keep the heat and melting evenly distributed.
10) As soon as the sugar is melted (or moments before), turn off the heat and whisk in the cubes of butter.
11) When the butter has completely melted remove from the stove. Whisk in the cream. Blend well until smooth.

Serve over the bread pudding. Sooo rich! If it's too much, maybe a little vanilla ice cream will help with the sweetness.