Individual Croissant Apple Bread Pudding

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Apples and croissants swim in a delicious cinnamon custard.  Individual Croissant Apple Bread Pudding is a quick and easy dessert that will pack a stunning punch at your dinner table.  

This post is sponsored in conjunction with Apple Week. I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the Apple Week recipes. All opinions are mine alone.

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Two more days of Apple Week left.  Can you believe it?  It still feels like the longest week ever.  I’m sharing these individual croissant apple bread puddings.  If you haven’t made an apple bread pudding before you really should try them!  They’re so delicious.  Especially if you make them with caramelized apples.

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Now, I know I’ve talked about the bread shelf in the pantry. It’s a constant struggle. there are so many uses for stale bread. I plan on making something with all of it. The hubs knows me better. He knows that I have the best of intentions, but it will just wind up becoming a science experiment before I finally give up and toss the bread.

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And that’s just what happened!

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I planned on using some of the stale bread on the shelf.  When I checked the shelf before heading out to the grocery there wasn’t any stale bread to be had on the shelf.  I was heartbroken.

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But that’s okay!  While I was at the grocery they had bags and bags of hoagie rolls.  I guess people don’t eat hoagies that much any more?  Anyway, I didn’t need THAT much bread.  And I didn’t want to cause any unnecessary strife between the hubs and I about the bread issue in the house.

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So, I skipped the day old bread shelf and went straight to the pastry shelf looking for muffins, donuts, something other than just plain old bread or buns.  And then I saw them.  Sitting there with like a spotlight on them.  You know what I mean, right?  Everything else is just grayed out and the think you’re most excited to see has a spotlight on it almost so bright you put on glasses.

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No, that doesn’t happen to you?  Moving on….

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On the pastry shelf was a box of four croissants for under $2.  Yes.  I said that right.  They were less than $2 for 4 day old croissants.  And they were more than what I could have hoped for in the day old bread section of the grocery.  It was like hitting the jackpot for bread pudding.  I should have bought a lottery ticket.  Oh well.

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So, I snatched those bad boys knowing full good and well that they were going to make the most delicious Individual Croissant Apple Bread Pudding I’ve ever made.  Just cause, well, CROISSANTS!  Hello!?  Not only croissants, but delicious apples, freshly ground cinnamon, and the most fragrant vanilla extract ever.  All of these ingredients are making me hungry thinking about making this again.

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Is it time for dessert yet?

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Just look at that those custard baked bites of croissant goodness.  And as an added bonus, I ground up some fresh cinnamon from The Spice House.  I’m not sure if you know this, but there’s different types of cinnamon out there.  Sorry to drop that bomb on you, but there is.

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My cinnamon preference is Saigon cinnamon, which is of the cassia variety and not the Ceylon.  I like the spiciness that the bark of that tree has over the other more typical cinnamon varieties.  It has more cinnamon flavor than any other I’ve cooked or baked with.  Saigon cinnamon, also known as Vietnamese cinnamon, has a more vibrant cinnamon aroma than the other cinnamons on the market.  Yes, I’ve tried all that I can get commercially in the States.

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When you’re a kitchen hoor you do that.

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The Saigon cinnamon is often sold in small strips of the hard bark.  It’s not as easy to grind by hand because of the thick pieces of bark, but it is definitely worth the effort.  I’ve killed a few coffee grinders in my day chopping those bugggers up.  So, if you can, make sure to get some shorter pieces or take a meat mallet to pound some chips off the bark.

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As if this freshly ground, aromatic cinnamon wasn’t enough in this already decadent Individual Croissant Apple Bread Pudding, I added some Rodelle vanilla to the custard.  Yes!  I did go over the top with this dessert!  It was the only justice I could serve those poor, unknown croissants that thought they would be slathered with butter and jam.

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Rodelle vanilla, like the cinnamon, has superior flavor and aroma.  That’s because they use hand selected Bourbon vanilla beans for this extract.  Their percolation process makes for the most amazing vanilla flavor packed with rich vanilla flavor.  You don’t need a lot of their extract to add sweet, vanilla flavor to your baked goods.

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I realized as I was shooting this bowl Individual Croissant Apple Bread Pudding goodness that you can’t actually see the bread pudding.  I put a little bit of ice cream on top because, well, isn’t that how y’all serve it?  I don’t go for all those chocolate and caramel sauces.  I’m all about the dollop of whipped cream or small scoop of ice cream that goes on top.

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It sort of makes its own sauce as it melts.

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I decided to dig in with my spoon and show you some of the chunky apple goodness that’s in there along with the layers of buttery croissant.  You can also see the flecks of cinnamon throughout, too.  It took everything I had NOT to shove that spoonful in my mouth.  I kid you not when I say this is an amazing dessert packed with so much flavor.  And it takes minutes to prepare!  That’s the best part.

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Yeah, see how the ice cream is melting and leaving a little pudding right there in the left corner?  THAT is precisely the reason why I serve all my bread puddings with ice cream.  The hot pudding, the cool ice cream, the melted in between; that’s the only way to serve bread pudding in my book.  I mean, you could top it with a caramel sauce, but that just adds sweet up on already sweet.  That’s not really my thing.

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Of course if that’s your thing then by all means!  A mean bourbon caramel sauce would be dynamite.

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You can see some of the flaky layers of the croissant in there.  Their buttery goodness just elevates this bread pudding to something out of this world!  You want to savor every last bite and then ask for more. Which is great if there’s only two of you because this makes four servings.  But, it’s not so great if you’re a family of four.  You’ll just have to make a double batch!

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And that, dear readers, is the bite I completely resisted shoving into my mouth.  The apples swimming with the croissants, cinnamon, and vanilla in that custard were calling my name!  “Christie!  Just take a bite!  One bite won’t kill you.  It’ll taste so good!”  Trust me, you’ll hear it too when you make these individual apple croissant bread puddings.

Friday Recipes: 

Disclaimer: Thank you Apple Week Sponsors: Swiss Diamond, Nordic Ware, Envy Apples, Imperial Sugar, The Spice House, Rodelle Vanilla, Flahavan’s Irish Oats and Nairn’s for providing the prizes free of charge. These companies also provided the bloggers with samples and product to use for Apple Week recipes. All opinions are my own.