Cook?s Mission, Week 1: Secret Apricot Passion Pudding

Why “Secret”? For those of you who are familiar with Mae’s Cook’s Mission, you’ll know why!

Ingredients

4 large, soft pretzels, left out overnight (the “secret” ingredient!)

2 eggs

1/2 cup apricot jam

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup dried apricots

3/4 cup milk

Nuts of choice (optional)

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp butter or margarine, melted

The pretzel recipe can be found in Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Breads Every Day, using King Arthur white whole wheat flour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Break the eggs into a large bowl and stir briefly. Add apricot jam and vanilla and stir to combine. If you’re hard-core like Peter, you can use the vanilla extract that you made yourself a year ago.

Chop the dried apricots and add to the egg mixture.

(What’s the expression? Speak softly and carry a big … knife? )

Tear the pretzels into pieces and add to the mixture.

Stir to combine, then pour milk over all.

Try to ignore the little doggle who’s waiting for you to drop anything edible.

A few chopped hazelnuts for crunch:

Add cinnamon and melted butter, and pour into greased pan.

I went for the “4-quadrant” look, which is a great way to try out different toppings:

Clockwise from upper left: whole apricots, plain, oatmeal, and, of course, chocolate.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until nicely browned on top (my whole apricots got a little too toasty).

You can guess which section I went for first.

Verdict? Try it! This unique version of bread pudding is sure to please any apricot lover you know Of course, you can always replace the apricot jam and/or dried apricots with your favorite kind of jam or dried fruit.

If you like the look of this recipe, vote for it on the Cook’s Mission website by clicking on this link and leaving a comment under my recipe (Edit: The recipe is up!). Of course, there are some delicious looking recipes on the Cook’s Mission website, so please do vote for the one you like best!

I’m excited to be having lunch at one of my favorite restaurants tomorrow. Which one? Stay tuned to find out! Have a nice evening!

Q: Have you ever made your own bread? How did it turn out?