Halloween Pumpkin Pudding

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Seasonal & Holiday Eats!

Happy Halloween!

1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 cup regular milk (can be ½ and ½ or whole)
1 ½ cups Pumpkin puree
4 large eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 ¼ tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 tsp dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 (1/2-inch) slices CUBED day-old or stale country loaf, Texas toast, brioche or challah bread
1 cup real maple syrup
2 cinnamon sticks (broken in half)
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, pumpkin puree, eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Once the bread is cubed, put it into the mixture and let it soak in the liquid. Once saturated, transfer bread into an 8x8 Pyrex cooking pan (double recipe for 9x13 pan). Once all the bread is in the pan, pour any remaining liquid into the pan, surrounding the bread. Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown and done through.  **This can also be made French Toast style by dipping the bread slices into the mixture and then cooking them individually on a hot buttered skillet/griddle until browned on both sides.

In a saucepan, combine maple syrup, 1 tsp vanilla, broken cinnamon sticks and pecans. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, and slowly simmer for another 3 minutes (stirring occasionally). Remove cinnamon sticks and spoon syrup mixture over each serving of the pudding. Add whipped cream or vanilla ice cream to make this an even more decadent treat.