Bread Pudding with Candied Orange Peel

 This is one of our family’s favorite desserts for the holidays.  Any leftovers will be our breakfast the next day.

Ingredients:

Bread:

1 (2 pound) loaf panettone bread

Custard Mixture:

8 large eggs

1 cup sugar

2 cups whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

½ cup candied orange peel, diced

Topping:

½ chopped pecans

Directions:

1.      Preheat oven to 375 degrees.   Spray a 9” x 13” rectangular cake pan with PAM.

2.      In a large mixing bowl, beat all the “custard mixture” ingredients together and set it aside.

3.      Trim the crusts off the panettone bread. 

4.      Tear the bread into small pieces and place them in the rectangular cake pan.

5.      Pour the custard mixture over the bread.  Using a spatula, combine and soak the bread in the custard mixture. 

6.      Sprinkle the chopped pecans on top of the bread pudding batter.

7.      Bake in oven for about 45 minutes, until golden and slightly “cracked”.

8.      Serve hot or room temperature.

Note: Here's a picture of the candied orange peel that I used for this recipe. http://www.greekinternetmarket.com/1501-05001.html