BREAD PUDDING CUPS WITH BOURBON SAUCE

Bread Pudding Cups with Bourbon Sauce image

Provided by Nancy Fuller

Categories dessert

Time 1h10m

Yield 12 servings

Number Of Ingredients 16

Nonstick cooking spray, for spraying liners
4 cups half-and-half
2 cups packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups chopped pecans
2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
12 slices stale cinnamon-raisin bread, torn into 1-inch pieces
1 cup apple cider
1 cup bourbon
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Pinch of salt

Steps:

For the bread pudding cups: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a muffin tin with paper liners and spray the liners with nonstick cooking spray. (Alternatively, spray the insides of twelve 2-ounce ramekins with nonstick spray.)
In a large bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, salt and eggs. Add in the pecans, butter and bread and stir to coat. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes.
Carefully fill the muffin tins about two-thirds of the way up with the bread pudding mixture. Cook until the puddings set, about 25 minutes.
For the bourbon sauce: In the meantime, add the cider, bourbon, brown sugar, butter, lemon juice and salt to a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the sauce reduces by one-half, about 10 minutes.
Remove the bread puddings from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. While still warm, use a skewer to poke a few holes into each pudding and pour in a couple of tablespoons of sauce. Serve immediately.