Bout time fo some muffins

If my mom doesn't stop asking me for banana muffins I'm going to scream...

Banana Muffins with Walnuts and Golden Raisins

Ingredients:  

• 1 C Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/2 C AP Flour
• 1/2 C Spelt Flour
• 1 Tsp B Soda
• 1 Tsp B Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 1 Tsp Cinnamon
• 4 Bananas- old and brown (mashed)
• 1/4 C Oil
• 1/2 C Low-Fat Buttermilk
• 1/4 C Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Tbsp Molasses
• 1 C Golden Raisins
• 1 C Chopped Walnuts

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and paper a 12-cup muffin tin.  In a large bowl mash the bananas and add oil, buttermilk, sugar, eggs, and molasses and mix.  In a separate small bowl mix flours, b soda, b powder, salt, and cinnamon.  Add dry to wet and mix just until they are combined.  Add the nuts and raisins and mix a few more times.  Pour into muffin tins and bake for about 18 minutes.  Take them out when they bounce back to the touch.  

Dump a lot of stuff in a cookie

Sometimes I put too much stuff in a cookie.  And sometimes it works out.  I bought some spelt flour on sale at Whole Foods the other day, not really sure why, just thought it would be nice to try.  And for some reason I thought it was gluten-free, not so though, spelt is a breed of wheat so that was a bust, but it has less calories that regular flour and more protein content, so it is a good flour to mix into a recipe.

Compost Cookies
Recipe adapted from Half Baked Harvest

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cup quick oats
• 1 cup white flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup spelt flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup canola oil (use a little more if batter is too dry, or if adding extra chocolate chips or nuts)
• 3 eggs
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 handfuls craisins

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 and line 3 baking sheets with foil.  Mix oats, flours, b soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.  In a larger bowl mix sugars, oil, eggs, orange zest, and vanilla in another bowl.  Combine the wet and dry in the large bowl and mix, you may have to do this with your hands.  Add more oil if the batter is too dry, it is supposed to be stiff though.  Now add your chocolate, nuts, and crasins.  Don't worry if all of the chips and nuts don't stick in the batter, you can eat what is left in the bowl when you are finished forming the cookies.  Grab big balls of dough with clean hands and roll into a ball, then drop onto baking sheet and press down with your hand to flatten a bit.  You can also take what chips are left in the bowl and press them on top of the cookies once they are formed on the sheet.  This is messy and the cookies will seem like they are not going to stay together but once they bake and set and cool they will be sturdy.  Bake for about 13 to 15 minutes until deep golden in color, then LET THEM SET on the sheet once out of the oven for at least 10 mins, they need to cool on the sheet or they will fall apart, enjoy!!

Cornbread muffins

Saw this recipe online and thought I'd give it a try.  It was great as a muffin rather than a quick bread, toasted with some Bon Maman raspberry jam.

Banana Walnut Honey Corn Muffins with Walnuts
Recipe adapted from Sarah's Cucina Bella


Ingredients:

• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 overripe banana, mashed
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk milk
• 2 tablespoons canola oil or melted butter
• 1 can of corn
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Method:

Preheat oven to 400, paper a 12-cup muffin tin.  Mix cornmeal, flours, b powder, and salt in small bowl, set aside.  In larger bowl mash the banana and add honey, eggs, milk, and oil and mix til combined.  Add to flour mixture and mix just til dry is incorporated.  Add corn and nuts and mix a few more times, don't over-mix batter or you will deflate it.  Pop in the oven for 15 minutes and then add time in 3 minute increments until the center is set.

Baking with pumpkin!!

Yet another way to tell that it's fall, canned pumpkin is aplenty.  I saved this recipe a week ago and was very glad that I did.

Pumpkin Cornbread Muffin with Craisins and Walnuts
Recipe adapted from Aida's Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 1 cup craisins
• 1 cup crushed walnuts

Method:

Preheat oven to 430.  Mix flour, b powder, salt, cinnamon, and cornmeal in a small bowl.  In a larger bowl mix sugar, eggs, pumpkin, canola, and molasses.  Pour dry into wet and mix til almost combined.  Add craisins and walnuts and mix completely.  Divide into about 8 muffin cups and put in oven.  Turn oven down to 400 and bake for about 20 minutes.  Muffins are done when they are firm to the touch.

Illustration credit:  www.123rf.com

It's a cold day... let's make some cookies

Chilly outside, but warm and smelling like baking inside.  Fall is here isn't it?  It sure felt like it today.  Shivering all day at work, but came home to a nice warm fire and a bag of chocolate chips.

Chocolate Chip Walnut and Butterscotch Coffee Cookies
Recipe adapted from A Zesty Bite

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks salted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 lg eggs
• 2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp brewed coffee
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp instant ground espresso
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup butterscotch chips 
• 1 cup crushed walnuts

Method:

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix b soda, flour, salt, espresso, and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy in electric mixer.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Add coffee.  Add dry mixture.  Add chips and walnuts.  Divide cookies between 4 baking sheets and bake for about 14 minutes, until golden brown.  

Illustration credit:  favim.com

Denver Brownies

For Father's Day dinner with the fam: David Leibovits's absolutely best brownie recipe with cream cheese icing and then chocolate ganache on top. My mom used to make these brownies at the bakery and she called them Denver Brownies. The flavor combo is pretty distinct and completely amazing.

My Dad likes just a little bit of chocolate for dessert so this was the perfect father's day treat for him. I got the brownie recipe from Thyme For Cooking.

I changed the recipe a little by using all yolks instead of whole eggs and I left my walnuts raw instead of toasting them.

Brownie Ingredients:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup walnuts

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 and prepare an 8x8 baking pan with tin foil and cooking spray.
Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the chocolate, stir until melted and then remove from the heat, don't burn the chocolate.
Add the sugar and vanilla and stir them in.
Add the egg and stir for 30 secs.
Add the flour and stir like crazy for one minute until batter gets smooth and shiny.
Add walnuts and stir to combine.
Pour into pan and flatten down with spatula.
Bake for about 30 minutes, a few crumbs will still stick to a knife inserted in the center. It will set at it cools.
Once the brownies have cooled completely you can spread a layer of Cream Cheese Icing and then a layer of Chocolate Ganache on top.

Cream Cheese Icing Recipe

Chocolate Ganache Recipe

Vegan Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cookies

I had a BBQ last night. Very fun. I made these cookies for my vegan friend Ben and everyone else ate them all!! They are so easy to make and you know I love that there is no mixer required. I guess that's the upside to not using butter, it's the same method as making muffins- mix dry together, mix wet together, combine them. This is also the first time that I have used a flax egg in a cookie. I have tried it in muffins before but not in a cookie- I think it worked well, the cookies are crispy on the outside and a bit chewy on the inside from the honey.

The recipe is from What Would Cathy Eat? I did change it a little: honey instead of molasses and walnuts instead of toasted pecans.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon ground flax seed mixed with 3 tablespoons water

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 ¼ cup rolled oats (old fashioned, not quick)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Scant ½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

½ cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons unsulphured molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup organic canola oil

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350.
Make your flax seed egg by mixing the flax seed with the water and microwaving for 30 seconds, set aside.
Combine all dry ingredients and walnuts in a small bowl (2nd paragraph), set aside.
Combine all wet ingredients in a larger bowl (3rd paragraph).
Add dry to wet and stir to combine.
Spread cookies (about 1 tbsp balls) on 2 cookies sheets and then squish them down a little flat because they don't spread and melt quite like regular cookies.
Bake about 15 minutes or until they are set and crisp on the edges.

Whole Wheat Pear Walnut Muffins with Poppy Seeds

8 am and I'm baking muffins. I really like my lazy mornings. I was supposed to garden today but it got cancelled so I have the whole day to bake and study. Baking takes priority obviously.

This recipe comes from Bon Appetite. It was originally a tea cake but I changed out the butter and subbed whole wheat flour for the almond meal.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup 2% buttermilk
1 1/2 cups
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

1/2 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
3/4 cup soy milk

1 ripe pear, cut into small cubes
1 cup chopped walnuts

Method:

Preheat oven to 450.
Mix first paragraph of dry ingredients, set aside.
Mix second paragraph of wet ingredients, set aside.
Add dry to wet and mix until almost combined.
Add pear and nuts and mix until just combined.
Divide batter into prepared muffin tin and bake at 450 for 5 mins.
Lower baking temp to 400 and bake for another 12 mins or until muffins bounce back to the touch.

Whole Wheat Banana Walnut Nutmeg Pancakes

I'm getting so into pancakes lately!! This morning I woke up and said to my mom "if you make the coffee I'll make the pancakes". And pancakes are pretty easy to make vegan. You just need the liquid, the flour, and the b powder. No eggs, no butter or milk necessary. They are so versatile and so much fun to cook. I'm perfecting my flipping technique. Needs work.

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp white sugar
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Dash of salt

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup of water- more as needed to thin the batter to the right consistency
1/4 cup buttermilk or regular milk or soymilk

2 Bananas- cut up
Handful of walnuts- chopped up

Method:

Combine all dry goods (1st paragraph of ingredients) in one bowl, set aside.
Combine all wet ingredients (2nd paragraph) in another bowl, set aside.
Mix dry into wet, just til combined.
You may need to add more water at this point to get the right consistency. It should be like thick soup.
Add bananas and walnuts and mix til just combined.

Heat your skillet to med-high heat and melt some butter on the pan.
Drop on a small tester pancake and wait until it starts to bubble, then flip it and let it cook for another 20 seconds or so, when it comes free of the pan easily it's done.
Now you know your pan is properly heated and you can cook the rest.

Photo Credit: cuizoo

Ice Cream Sandwich a la Elias Grim

This is what happens when Elias and Jenn come over for dinner and we have ice cream and these whole wheat chocolate chip walnut cookies on the table. Elias- dessert slut that he is- made this beautiful sandwich with softened vanilla ice cream and proclaimed it to be delicious. Good thing Nan and I softened the ice cream for him in the sun on the walk home from Pathmark.

Enjoy Li Li!!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

Today I bring you one of my favorite Night Kitchen (my mom's bakery) faves. Actually I think that this was my favorite cookie that they made. What sets this whole wheat cookie apart is definitely the powdered milk. It gives it a distinctive flavor that you can't really describe. But it brings back memories....

Ingredients:

1 stick margarine
i stick butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp b soda
1/3 cup powdered milk
2 1/5 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup walnuts
2 cups chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350
Beat the butter and marg with the brown sug and add the vanilla. Then add the eggs and beat again. In a separate small bowl combine all the dry ingredients. Add the dry to the butter and beat until combined. Add the walnuts and chocolate and beat again. These guys should fit on two baking sheets covered with foil and bake about 12 to 15 minutes depending on how hard or soft you like. Honestly these guys can stay in for a while it's hard to overcook them. We actually like them a little on the burnt side.

And while I was making the cookies these guys were taking a nap...

Double Chocolate Walnut Cookies

Double chocolate cookies are a fun change. You can find the original recipe here. I like this recipe because you don't have to melt chocolate into the dough which is messy and I always burn it in the microwave. These came out very delicate and crumbly. After portioning the cookies on the sheet I pressed them down with my hand. They didn't spread too much so I crowded them a little and it worked out fine.

Also, my very sweet friend Carolyn from class gave me some vanilla bean pods to experiment with. I've never used the pods before, only extract. So I was very excited to try them out. I scraped out the contents with the back of a knife and tapped it into my mixer. It made for some great cookies. Thanks Carolyn!!

Ingredients:

½ Cup/1 stick Unsalted Butter, softened
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Egg Yolk
1 tsp Vanilla or the contents of 1 vanilla bean pod
1 Cup All-Purpose Flour, sifted
½ tsp Baking Soda
¼ Cup Cocoa Powder
Pinch of Sea Salt
½ Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/3 Cup Walnut Pieces

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Line two baking sheets with tin foil.


In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt. Add the chocolate chips and walnuts, and stir to combine.



In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, vanilla. Add the egg yolk and beat again. Add the dry ingredients and mix well to form a soft dough. Spoon out the dough onto baking sheets. Use the palm of your hand to press the dough down lightly and bake for about 11 to 12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, then remove from the oven and set the baking sheet on a wire rack for 5 minutes to cool. Use a spatula to transfer the cookies on the rack to cool completely.

Cinnamon Swirl Povitica Bread

Remember those cinnamon swirl pinwheel snack cakes that your mom used to put in your lunch when you were little? I used to unroll them before I ate them. Well this bread is exactly like that.

I made the dough, went to the coffee shop for an hour to do some work, walked over to the new Green Street Consignment and got a pair of AG Jeans for $24.00, then went home and made my bread. The dough needed 90 mins to rise so I had plenty of time to do some shopping, and since I had to leave my mom at the consignment shop because she was taking so long to try on dresses, I ended up rolling the dough out all by myself- my first adventure with yeast was a huge success!!

I found this recipe on Brownie Bite's Blog. I added raisins to the filling and I'm thinking next time apples or chunky applesauce in there too. Or some kind of a coffee cake crumble filling. There are a lot of possibilities. I also added some extra cinnamon, right before I rolled up the dough in a spiral. Ooooh I should have sprinkled some on top before I put it in the oven too!! Next time...

Ingredients:

ACTIVATING THE YEAST:
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1/4 teaspoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons warm water
1 1/2 teaspoons of active dry yeast

FOR THE DOUGH:
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
2 cups all-purpose flour, measured then sifted

FOR THE FILLING:
1 1/2 cups walnuts, ground or chopped
1 1/2 cups raisins
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

FOR THE TOPPING:
1 egg, beaten (to brush onto the dough)
Mixture of demerara (or any raw sugar), cinnamon, and cardamom


Method:

ACTIVATE THE YEAST:
In a small bowl, stir 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp flour and yeast into 2 TBS warm water. Cover with plastic wrap, and allow it to stand for 5 minutes until bubbly.

MAKE THE DOUGH:
In a medium saucepan, heat the milk to just below boiling , stirring constantly. Allow to cool slightly.

In bowl of mixer, add the scalded milk to 3 TBS sugar and 3/4 tsp salt until combined. Add the beaten egg, 1 TBS melted butter, and the yeast mixture. Add 1/4 cup of the sifted flour. Stir until combined. Slowly add small amounts of the remaining flour (1 3/4 cups) until the dough begins to clean the bowl. (I had to add a couple more tbsp of flour to really get the dough to pull together).

Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead, continuing to add small amounts of flour until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky. Place dough ball into a greased mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap and a dish towel. Let rise in a warm place for 90 minutes or until doubled in size.

Go shopping

TO MAKE THE FILLING:
In a bowl, mix together the walnuts with sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom.

In a saucepan, heat the milk and butter to boiling, and then pour over the nut mixture.

Allow to cool slightly and then add egg yolk and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Allow mixture to come to room temperature.

ASSEMBLING THE DOUGH:
Turn dough out onto a floured surface and with a floured rolling pin roll out dough to a rectangle approximately 10×12 inches. Continue rolling until dough is very, very thin. Occasionally lift the dough and sprinkle extra flour on your surface as needed to prevent sticking and tearing.

Spread nut filling over the top of dough, leaving a little room around the edges. Spread raisins on dough as well. Shake some extra cinnamon on there while you're at it.

Carefully and slowly roll the dough up like a jelly roll. Starting at the center, gently pull the log toward the edges to make it slightly longer.

Using a 9×5 loaf pan as a guide, create an S-shape with your dough that will fit inside of the pan.
Thoroughly grease your pan and lay the dough inside. Then brush with a beaten egg and top with raw sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom.

Bake at 350F for about 15 minutes. Turn down oven temperature to 300F and bake an additional 45 minutes. Add an aluminum foil tent to dough if it starts to brown too quickly or too much. Bread is done when it is a deep golden brown, begins to pull away at the edges, and has a hollow sound when you thunk on it.
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before removing from pan. Slice with a serrated knife. Sometimes it’s easiest to turn the loaf upside down before cutting.

Omar's Carrot Cake Cookies

So my friend Omar must love sandwich cookies because this is another one that I used to make for him. He is the only person in the world who likes a carrot cake without raisins or nuts in it so I made these ultra-plain for him- but I recommend that you stick to the recipe and add lots of raisins and nuts. Tradition!! (Tevia)

These cookies are super soft and cakey and don't hold hold up too long so keep them in the fridge and eat them fast baby!! Original Recipe from Epicurious.

The Cookie

Ingredients:

1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coarsely grated carrots (2 medium)
1 scant cup walnuts (3 ounces), chopped
1/2 cup raisins (2 1/2 ounces)

Preparation:

1. Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 2 baking sheets.
2. Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
3. Beat together butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
3. Mix in carrots, nuts, and raisins at low speed, then add flour mixture and beat until just combined.
4. Drop 1 1/2 tablespoons batter per cookie 2 inches apart on baking sheets and bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are lightly browned and springy to the touch, 12 to 16 minutes total. Cool cookies on sheets on racks 1 minute, then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

For the filling-

Ingredients:

2 ounces bar cream cheese, room temperature
2 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation:

1. Blend cream cheese, butter, sugar, and lemon juice with electric mixer until light and fluffy

When your cookies are cool, sandwich them with as much or as little icing as you like, store in tupperware in the fridge. Try to eat these guys as soon as you can or they will start to get soft in the fridge or Omar will break into your kitchen and eat them himself.

Photo Credit: Epicurious

Bran Muffins

Well Maida Heatter, you've done it again. This is by far the best bran muffin I've ever had. Once again, they used to sell these at my mom's bakery and we would cut them in half, toast them, and slather them in butter on weekend mornings.  was kind enough to type out the recipe for us.

Maida Heatter's Bran Muffins
Recipe from Maida Heatter via Star Chefs

Yields: 18 muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup dark or light molasses or honey
• 2 eggs (large grade)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups bran cereal (do not use flakes, Maida recommends Kellogg's All-Bran)
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup walnuts broken into large pieces
• 1/2 cup unsifted whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup unsifted all purpose white flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Method:

If your oven can not fit both muffin tins side by side on the middle rack, adjust the 2 racks to divide the oven into 3rds.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Butter 18 2 3/4 inch muffin forms. Note: Buttering the tins will create a very nice crust for the muffins, if using paper cups the crust may be diminished but the muffins will keep longer.
Melt butter over low heat. In a large mixing bowl combine the melted butter, sugar and molasses or honey and stir to mix.
In a separate bowl beat the eggs and milk to mix.
Slowly add the egg mixture to the butter mixture stirring with a wire whisk to blend. Mix in the bran and raisins and let stand for a few minutes. Or cover and refrigerate overnight. Stir in walnuts.
Sift together flours, salt, and baking soda and add to bran mixture. Stir quickly with rubber spatula just enough to moisten dry ingredients.
With a large spoon, fill prepared cups with batter about 2/3rds full.
Bake for 15 minutes rotating muffin pans once to insure even cooking. Muffins will be done when they spring back from touch. Note: If muffin mixture has been refrigerated, cooking time will be 4 minutes longer. Take muffins from oven and remove from baking tins immediately and cool on rack.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

This was one of the best Martha recipes I've ever made. Click here for link. She's got a few recipes that I go back to again and again, and this is one of them. So I baked mine in a spring-form pan rather than indi ramekins. I also added walnuts to make it a little more interesting. Aaaaaand I had to use random old french bread that I found in the freezer. Another time I threw in some day-old scones that I bought from my local cooperative grocery store and subbed some of the sugar with mashed old bananas. And hell- sprinkle some brown sugar on it for good luck.

Ingredients

Unsalted butter, room temperature, for ramekins
6 tablespoons dark-brown sugar
1 cup raisins
1/3 cup bourbon
1/3 cup hot water
One 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
4 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch of salt
One 12-ounce, day-old loaf brioche or challah bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter six 10-ounce ramekins or custard cups, and sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon brown sugar, and set aside on a baking sheet. Place raisins in a small bowl, and cover with bourbon, if using, and the hot water; let soak until plump, about 20 minutes. Drain; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, eggs, granulated sugar, milk, vanilla, spices, and salt. Toss in the bread cubes, and stir gently to evenly coat; let stand a few minutes. Fold in the raisins. Divide among prepared dishes, pressing down slightly to make level.
Bake until custard is set in the center and top is golden, about 40 minutes. If bread browns too quickly, cover loosely with aluminum foil. Remove from oven; let cool slightly. To serve, un-mold onto plates; dust with confectioners' sugar.

Photo Credit: Martha Stewart