pat's Recipe

Pumpkin Pie-Croissant Pudding

Category: Thanksgiving

3 cup dark raisins
1/4 cup rye whiskey
6 large croissants (about 1 pound), cut into 2-inch pieces
Butter, for the dish
1 cup pumpkin pie filling
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
7 eggs
1 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Put the raisins in a bowl and cover with the whiskey. Spread the croissant pieces on a baking sheet and toast for about 10 minutes, stirring once, until golden brown. Let cool.
Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin pie filling with the cream, milk, eggs, sugar and salt. In the prepared baking dish, toss the croissants with the raisins and whiskey. Pour the pumpkin mixture on top, pressing with the back of a spoon until most of the croissants are moistened.
Bake for about 40 minutes, until the center is just set; tent with foil if the top starts to brown too quickly. Let cool to warm and serve with vanilla ice cream.
Makes 6 servings.