Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce #goodcookcom #goodcookkitchenexprt

When you think of the holidays you hear of the same ol’ recipes that people bring to the meals. Traditional pumpkin pie, turkey and of course green bean casserole. So when Good Cook sent me their Ultimate Thanksgiving Basket, and asked me to bake something with pumpkin I started to think about what I should make.

Eventually I settled on Pumpkin Bread Pudding because, well, I never had it and it has pumpkin – I love pumpkin!

A key ingredient of the recipe is pumpkin puree. You could always buy your own canned (or boxed), use your home canned pumpkin, or make it fresh!

Making your own pumpkin puree is easy – and just takes a little bit of time. And really all you need is a pumpkin, and some melted butter!

Good Cook sent us one of their Sweet Creations Pumpkin Scoops to use for our recipe. This isn’t a small set for carving a pumpkin, but a larger scoop for use on pumpkins, squash or other large gourds. Like the Sweet Creations pumpkin carving set, it has one smooth size and one serrated side of the scoop making it ideal for scooping out all the guts you don’t want! One of my favorite features about the scoop is it has the knife included right inside it! I had to wiggle and fight with mine a little bit at first to get it out, but now it slides out easily. The set wont get separated, and together make working with any pumpkin easy. The Sweet Creations Pumpkin Scoop is available at Walmart, if you need them to make your fresh pumpkin puree!

How to Make Fresh Pumpkin Puree

Ingredients:

• 1 Pumpkin
• 2 tbsp melted Butter

Directions:

Step 1:

Choose the perfect pumpkin! I’ve used carving pumpkins and pie pumpkins. It really don’t matter.

I know that finding pumpkins this time of year can get hard. It seems like all of the stores packed them up after Halloween. But I’ve been able to locate them at Meijer, Whole Foods and our local farmer’s market. Be on the lookout – there still are some fresh pumpkins out there!

Step 2: 

With your Sweet Creations Knife (removed from the handle) cut your pumpkin in half.

I’m not sure if it’s because I bought an organic pumpkin but the skin of my pumpkin was really tough. But thankfully the Sweet Creations knife had serrated teeth to help cut through the skin. There are actually finer teeth and larger ones to do more detailed work for carving.

Step 3: 

Once you’re pumpkin is in half use your scoop to remove any seeds and guts.

I always remove a handful of seeds and wash them. Let them dry a day or two and set them in a dry place to plant next season!

Step 4: 

Once your pumpkin is cut in half, brush the cut edge of your pumpkins with the melted butter.

Step 5: 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with tin foil.

Step 6: 

Place your cut and cleaned pumpkins face down on the foil. Bake for 1 hour to 90 minutes until soft.

Step 7: 

Remove your pumpkin from oven and allow to cool for about an hour.

Your pumpkin should be soft and the skin should easily peel off. However, if yours has a tougher skin like mine had you just bring out your scoop again and remove the softened pumpkin from the skin.

Step 8: 

Take your cooled cooked pumpkin and place it in your blender. Blend until smooth!

You now have pumpkin puree!

You can use it immediately, freeze it or refrigerate it up to a week if you’re going to use it soon. But you cannot can the pumpkin – if you choose to can your extra pumpkin cut it out of chunks and follow the canning instructions here.

Now that you have your homemade puree – let’s make some Pumpkin Bread Pudding!

Pumpkin Bread Pudding Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh Pumpkin Puree
• 2 cups Half and Half
• 1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground Nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground Cloves
• 10 slices gluten Free Bread
• 1/2 Cup Golden Raisins

Directions:

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 10 x 7 brownie pan by spraying it with cooking spray.

Good Cook sent us a selection of their Good Cook Bakeware – their brownie pan was perfect for this recipe.

Step 2: 

In a large bowl mix together your puree, half and half, spices, brown sugar and eggs. Mix until smooth.

Step 3:

Chop up your favorite gluten free bread into 1/2 inch or smaller cubes. Add it to your pumpkin mixture and stir until just combined. Carefully fold in your golden raisins.

Step 4: 

Pour your bread mixture into your prepared brownie pan. Let it sit for about 20 minutes. This allows the bread to soak up pumpkin mixture. Try to make sure your bread is all in the mixture.

Step 5: 

Bake! Bake the bread pudding mixture for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

Caramel Sauce Recipe: 

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 1 stick Butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream

Directions:

Step 1:

In a large sauce pan add your sugar and butter. Stir continuously until the butter melts. It will start to bubble a little bit, but keep stirring until the butter is melted.

Step 2:

Add in your heavy cream. Keep stirring! It will take a few minutes and your caramel may hiss when you add in the cream, but stir until it is fully integrated.

Remove from the heat and wait until your bread pudding is ready to enjoy!

*Tip* Make the caramel when you put the bread pudding in the oven. It will have time to cool and thicken some before serving. This means more caramel goodness on top!

Bread Pudding is delicious served warm. If you have left overs you can always pop them in the microwave for about 30 seconds to warm it again to enjoy it later

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When: Monday, November 25, 2013
Time: 6:00 pm to 7:00pm EST
Hashtag: #Thanksgivingtips

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