Cranberry Orange Bread Pudding

Recipe courtesy of Kirsten Kubert of “Comfortably Domestic” on behalf of Milk Means More Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 65 minutes Servings: 12 Pudding: 1 loaf Texas toast or day- old bread 1- 2 tablespoons softened butter 1 1/ 2 cups fresh cranberries 6 eggs 3/ 4 cup granulated sugar 3 1/ 2 cups 2% milk 1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest 1/ 4 cup fresh orange juice 1/ 4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled 1 1/ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/ 8 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 1/ 2 tablespoons coarse granulated sugar ( optional) Orange Custard Sauce: 3 egg yolks 1/ 4 cup granulated sugar 1 cup half- and- half 1/ 2 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest To make pudding: Cut bread into bitesized cubes. If bread is soft and fresh, place cubes on half sheet pan and let stand at room temperature overnight to dry out. Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease 13- by- 9- by- 2- inch baking dish with softened butter. Place bread cubes in prepared baking pan. Scatter cranberries over bread. Beat eggs with sugar, milk, orange zest, orange juice, melted butter, vanilla and cinnamon until well blended. Pour evenly over bread and cranberries to coat. Sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired. Bake 60- 65 minutes, or until custard is set and edges of bread are browned. To make orange custard sauce: In small saucepan, whisk egg yolks with sugar until lightened to pale yellow color, about 2 minutes. Stir half- and- half into mixture until combined. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, 15- 20 minutes, or until sauce thickens enough to coat spoon. Stir orange zest into custard sauce. Serve bread pudding with warm custard sauce over top.