Granola Breakfast Bread Pudding

My younger sister (aka my most avid reader) challenged me to create a new recipe out of the granola she sent me for my birthday.  After thinking about it, I decided it needed to top something delicious, which would obviously be bread pudding.  Now that combination would be magical, and indeed it is.  For an out-of-the-box breakfast that will really get you excited to wake up in the morning, check out this beauty.

Granola Breakfast Bread Pudding

Ideally you'd have a loaf of bread that's been sitting on the counter getting stale, but if you don't (like me), just buy a fresh loaf the day before, cut it into 2" pieces, and leave it out on a baking sheet, in a single layer, overnight to dry out.

Serves 8-10 

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 loaf of stale French bread (about 7-8 cups), cut into pieces

4 cups of milk 

5 eggs

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup blueberries, fresh or thawed (make sure they're not wet so the top doesn't get soggy)

1 cup granola

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF and grease a 9 x 13" baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt.  Add in the bread and mix.  Add the cinnamon and mix again, making sure that the bread is thoroughly soaked.  Pour the mixture into the baking dish.  Top with blueberries and granola.  Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick into the center comes out clean.  Let rest for 5 minutes, then serve warm.

To freeze, let cool to room temperature, store in tupperware, and freeze up to 3 months.  To reheat, defrost overnight in the refrigerator and microwave until warmed through.