pecan halves – Brownie Mischief

These delightful Mini Banana Bread Puddings are a great way to use up leftover banana bread. At my house, we rarely have any leftover banana bread so I like to bake a special loaf of banana bread just for this recipe, a couple of days before I want to serve the bread puddings. If you need a banana bread recipe, try My Favorite Banana Bread, click here for the recipe. These personal bread puddings make an equally delicious brunch or dessert. You can top them with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream which makes them even more delicious.

Mini Banana Bread Puddings

by Mari Vasseur

Individual banana bread puddings with caramel sauce

Print Recipe

Cuisine American

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

6 1-inch thick slices banana bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
⅓ cup (66g) sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
3 large eggs
¾ cup (177ml) whole milk
½ cup (118ml) heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ cup (57g) melted butter
⅓ cup (37g) pecan halves
¾ cup (240g) caramel sauce, purchase or homemade
Whipped cream optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 300ºF (150ºC). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the banana bread cubes on the baking sheet. Bake until dry and slightly crisp, about 10-15 minutes, turning every 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
In a small bowl, whisk the sugar and cinnamon together until well blended.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, heavy cream, vanilla extract, salt and the cinnamon-sugar mixture together until well creamy and well blended. Add the cooled banana bread cubes to the egg mixture and gently toss to coat. Let sit until all of the liquid is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180º). Generously butter six 7 or 8-ounce ramekins or a 6-serving jumbo muffin pan. (You can also line the bottoms of the ramekins or the muffin pan with parchment paper rounds to make them easier to release. The parchment isn't necessary if you want to serve the bread puddings in ramekins.) Place the ramekins on a baking sheet.
Spoon the banana bread cubes into the ramekins or the muffin pan. Drizzle with melted butter. Top each one with a few pecans.
Bake until the bread puddings are golden brown and the center is set, about 25-33 minutes. Let the puddings cool for about 5 minutes, then turn them out if you're using a muffin pan. Drizzle the warm bread puddings with caramel sauce and top with whipped cream if desired.

Notes

To find 7-ounce ramekins, click here.

To find 8-ounce ramekins, click here.

To find a jumbo muffin pan, click here.

Keyword banana, bread pudding

Chocolate Turtle Drop Cookies

Chocolate cookies loaded with chopped chocolate, caramel chips, and toffee bits, topped with pecans.

Course Dessert

Servings 20 cookies

Ingredients

2 cups (9 oz or 255g) all purpose flour, sifted
½ cup (1 1/2 oz or 43g) unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ cup (4 oz or 113g) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (3 1/2 oz or 100g) granulated sugar
¾ cup 5 1/4 oz or 150g) packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (6 oz or 170g) coarsely chopped dark or semi-sweet chocolate (not chips)
1 cup (6 oz or (170g) caramel chips (not bits)
1 cup (6 oz or 170g) toffee bits or chopped candied pecans
20 pecan halves

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
In a separate large bowl, cream the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar together with an electric mixer at medium speed, until light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs and vanilla in three separate additions, making sure each addition is incorporated before adding the next. Beat in the flour mixture just until combined.
Set aside 20 chunks of the chopped chocolate. Fold the remaining chopped chocolate, the caramel chips and the toffee bits into the dough.
Place twenty 2-inch size portions of dough about 2-inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. (I used a #24 portion scoop*)
Top each cookie with a chunk of the reserved chocolate and a pecan half. Bake until the surface of the cookies is set, about 10-11 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute then transfer to a cooling rack.

Notes

To find the portion scoop I used, click here.

Keyword chocolate, cookies