Waste Not, Want Not {Recipe: Krispie Kreme Bread Pudding}

Fundraising an unfortunate necessity in most K-12 schools, my kids' school is no exception, and I hate them.  As much as I despise them, I always do my part.  This fall the kids wanted to try a Krispy Kreme Fundraiser in conjunction with a bake sale to raise money for a student leadership seminar. Most of the time with fundraisers I wind up buying more of whatever is being sold than I need.  This time was no different and I wound up with 5 dozen donuts. At $12 a dozen, I don't want to waste them. So I threw them in the freezer until I can come up with ways use them. So far I have tried French toast and bread pudding.

So first I tried donut French toast. It worked and was quite good, I just treated the donuts like bread, but I did have to poke the donuts with a fork to allow the egg mixture to soak in a bit into the donuts. Also, I pressed down on the toast with the back of a spatula while cooking to get more of a french toast appearance and texture.

The second use for the donuts I tried is bread pudding. This is really good! It is easier than the French toast and, I think, tastier. It makes for a really nice dessert when served with vanilla ice cream, a sprinkling of toasted pecans, then drizzled with a little maple syrup to top it off.

Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding

1 dozen day old glazed Krispy Kreme donuts*
1 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Powdered sugar for dusting. 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 13"x9" casserole pan with butter. Cut each donut into sixths and arrange in the casserole pan. In a medium size bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, eggs, milk, salt, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour over prepared donuts. Let stand about 15 minutes, then turn over the donut pieces to allow for both side to soak in egg mixture; re-arrange the donut pieces. Let stand for 15 more minutes. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until golden brown and set, but still a little wobbly. If you find the pudding is browning too fast and is not set, tent with foil until fully cooked. Dust with powdered sugar after removing from the oven. Serve warm or at room temperature. It is good on its own or with vanilla ice cream. Toasted pecans and/or a drizzle of maple syrup is good on it as well. 

*As mentioned above, I put the donuts in the freezer before using them. They were a bit hardened when I thawed them, but they work beautifully for bread pudding. 

Enjoy!