Bread Pudding Made With Udi's Cinnamon Rolls

I saw a recipe for "Udilicious Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding with Vanilla Bean Sauce" and thought this would make the perfect decadent dessert for our Christmas Eve celebration. I always make vegetarian, gluten free lasagna on Christmas Eve but vary the dessert from year to year.

I have to admit, I was very skeptical about making this dessert. First of all, I wasn't going to make a test batch before Christmas. That would be too much work and too much money because the recipe calls for two package of Udi's gluten free cinnamon rolls and a real vanilla bean. Second, we didn't need to eat an entire batch just a week or two before the holiday. Finally, as we all know, gluten free products and recipes can be risky. This could turn out to be something my gluten eaters wouldn't enjoy. So, I told my guests that I was experimenting with dessert and if it didn't turn out, we would instead eat chocolate.

Well, the dessert did turn out. It turned out so well in fact that everyone at the table took some home with them to eat later. One guest even e-mailed me to confess that she ate hers later that same night.

It is a little time consuming because there are several steps AND you MUST let the cinnamon rolls sit and soak up the custard before baking. I prepared mine 4 or 5 hours before it needed to bake. I wish I had made it the night before and let it soak for a day. But this recipe is totally worth the time, effort and money! Try it, you will love it.

Udilicious Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding with Vanilla Bean Sauce
(note: I tweaked this based on my cooking experience with this recipe.)
Chef: Johnna Perry

Bread Pudding Ingredients:

* Two packages Udi’s Cinnamon Rolls, frosted with enclosed frosting
* 1/3 cup raisins
* 1/3 cup chopped pecans (dry roasted, unsalted if available)
* 1 quart milk
* 6 eggs
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/3 cup butter, sliced

Directions:

1. Cut the cinnamon rolls into 1" pieces and place into a greased 9” x 13” casserole dish. Toss with the frosting packets.

2. Sprinkle the raisins and pecan pieces over the cinnamon roll pieces.

3. Beat the milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla until well blended, then pour over the cinnamon rolls.

4. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 to 3 hours but overnight would be better.

5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

6. Slice the butter and dot the top of the rolls with it.

7. Place in oven and bake 45 to 50 minutes (or longer) until it is set in the center and bubbling around the edges.

Vanilla Bean Sauce Ingredients:

* ½ cup sugar
* 3 T. light brown sugar
* 1 T. white rice flour
* 1 t. ground nutmeg
* 1 egg
* 2 T. butter
* 1 ¼ cups whole cream
* 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

Directions:

1. Whisk all ingredients together and cover over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes, whisking constantly.

2. The mixture will thicken considerably and even more after it cools.

3. Sauce can be served either warm or at room temperature.

Christmas Cookie Success!

I have a world famous Christmas cookies recipe. Well, I just believe it is world famous. But I can tell you that I get a lot of requests for these cookies. Friends and family wait for me to make them every year. I usually only make them once a year -- rolled and decorated cookies are a lot of work!

However, these cookies have lost a little of their luster with me these past few years because I became essentially gluten free. I still have gluten once in a while but certainly not often enough to enjoy Christmas cookies. I still make them because everyone loves them but I don't think I have eaten any the past two years.

I tried to make a gluten free version the first year I went gluten free, but they had a funny taste to them. I used Bob's Red Mill GF All-Purpose Baking Flour. There is a flour in there I do not like - garbanzo or fava bean perhaps? Because of that I have never been a fan of Bob's GF All-Purpose Baking Flour. For prepackaged GF flour I favor Pamela's.

This year I decided to make cookies using Shauna's GF Flour Mix. Aside from being really fragile, these cookies are indistinguishable from my gluten filled variety. I now have a little container of cookies in the refrigerator just for me!

I have had two big successes using Shauna's mix (pie crust and cookies) and I am looking forward to trying more things in the new year. And guess what folks? I improvised a little with her recipe because I didn't have exactly the flours she listed, namely the superfine brown rice flour -- I just used white rice flour. Here is her recipe:

200 grams superfine brown rice flour
150 grams sorghum flour
50 grams potato flour
250 grams sweet rice flour
150 grams potato starch
100 grams arrowroot powder
100 grams cornstarch

Happy baking to all and to all a good night!

Cinnamon Crispies with Gluten Free Pie Crust

I have a confession to make. I whipped up a batch of gluten free pie crust the other night (using Shauna's recipe) but I wasn't making pie. I just had an incredible craving for cinnamon crispies.

My hubby was out of town and it made the idea of cinnamon crispies all the more appealing. I wouldn't have to share and he wouldn't need to know my secret, that I ate them all. Oh my, they were so good. This pie crust recipe is awesome too. Who knew that gluten free crust could be this good? Here is my recipe for cinnamon crispies:

Cinnamon Crispies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Make a batch of gluten free pie crust (I actually made a half of a batch)

Roll-out between two pieces of parchment paper until about 1/4 inch thick, or a little less, remove top piece of parchment

Sprinkle with a cinnamon/sugar blend

Cut into strips using a pizza cutter or knife, turn and cut strips into squares

Transfer to a cookie sheet (you can cook on the parchment)

Bake for about 20 minutes but check frequently as they can burn quickly because of the cinnamon sugar. They may need more than 20 minutes, just watch carefully.