pumpkin {baguette} bread pudding

I'm drowning in bread. School started last week + we've only been making baguettes... lots + lots of baguettes. Everyday it's scale, mix, wait, scale, shape, wait, roll, wait, load, eat. Everyyyy single day. It's great practice but the magic of bringing home a brown bag FULL of bread has lost some of its romance by day 8. Not to mention our garbage can was filling up with all the old bread that steadily grew into a heaping mound. I was feeling a bit guilty about throwing away all the extra baguettes; I tried offering it to a homeless guy who declined the free bread + proceeded to ask for money or marijuana or both. So instead I opted to use the day old bread to make a perfectly fall dessert, pumpkin {baguette} bread pudding.

The addition of cloves or pumpkin pie spice would give this bread pudding a warm spicy flavor-unfortunately I didn't have either. However, if it's bread that you've run out of please let me know, I have PLENTY.

Pumpkin Baguette Breading Pudding

1 1/2 cups heavy cream/milk (I used 1 cup cream 1/2 cup milk)

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp brown sugar (plus more for sprinkling)

2 eggs + 1 yolk

1 heaping tsp cinnamon (plus more for sprinkling)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ginger

5 cups cubed (1 inch) day-old baguette

6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter + toss with bread cubes in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl whisk together cream/milk, pumpkin, eggs, sugar + spices until well combined. Pour over bread cubes + toss until bread is thoroughly coated. Pour into an ungreased 8 x 8 inch baking dish. Sprinkle top with additional brown sugar + cinnamon. Bake for 25-30 minutes until custard has set.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

October is my favorite month of the year. The leaves changing colors, the temperatures dropping, the leather boots coming out of the closet... it seriously doesn't get any better.

On a typical October day, I usually try to go out and enjoy the last few bearable days in the city, but today was a rainy, cold mess. Craving a warm meal and comfort food, my mind was drawn to the flavors of fall. Although apple was definitely the first thing that came to mind, I decided to make something with pumpkin instead. Pie was too big of an undertaking, so I decided to stick to my favorite thing in the world: cookies.

This Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe is easy, fast and delicious. The cookies are meant to be big in size and have a cake-like consistency... perfect for dunking in a cup of hot coffee in the morning. How I wish there was an Intelligentsia Coffee Roasters down the street... Krissy, get out here now- and bring some coffee!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (I didn't include this and they taste delicious)

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 stick unsalted butter

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Start by preheating the oven to 325 degrees.

Next, stir the flour, baking soda, salt and spices together in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together with a mixer until they become smooth and light in color. Next, on a low speed, mix in the butter, pumpkin and vanilla until blended. Lastly, mix in the dry ingredients. Once completed blended, stir in the chocolate chips by hand.

Scoop the dough in large mounds onto the cookie sheet. I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup to do this. Bake for about 16 minutes, or until a toothpick can be inserted in the center and comes out dry.

Personally, I think these cookies taste the best when they are still warm. Enjoy!