Quick & Easy Croissant Apple Bread Pudding with Coconut Crisp Topping

Many of you may remember my S'mores Mini Donuts recipe from last month that I threw together in a matter of minutes before a party.  It was super popular because with such busy lifestyles, we all need super easy recipes that are impressive without taking up tons of time.  This time, I had to put together a dessert for the whole family and I was pulling my hair out trying to think of a quick recipe that would please everyone.  One trip to Smart & Final's convenient premade dessert table and 20 minutes later, I had this amazing bread pudding in the oven!

Here is my MUST TRY Croissant Apple Bread Pudding with Coconut Crisp Topping, perfect for a fall dessert or brunch!

For the flavor profile, I wanted to let you know that this isn't your typical overly sweet bread pudding.  Although the pudding is more subtly flavored, the coconut crisp topping is nice and sweet in contrast, and the whole family will love it!

The best part of my recipe is that you can make this in a hurry and embellish a few Smart & Final premade treats to make a fabulous dessert when you don't have time to bake from scratch.  No need to cut apples, measure flour/sugar/spices, season your own crumble topping, or make a drizzle.  If you aren't a baker or an experienced cook, this is an especially great recipe to try out.  Everyone will be so impressed!

Croissant Apple Bread Pudding with Coconut Crisp Topping
A Vintage Zest original recipe

Ingredients

5 First Street Sliced Croissants

First Street Bakery 8" Dutch Apple Pie

4 large eggs
2 cans evaporated milk

9 First Street Bakery Coconut Macaroons
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions

1. Cut (or tear) croissant into small squares and place on baking dish.

2. Bake on 250 until slightly toasted.  I toasted mine for 10 minutes, turning once halfway through.  You may be able to toast them for longer, but keep an eye on them, because they burn quickly!  Also, try your best not to gobble up the toasted, buttery goodness after they're done.  :)


3. While the the croissants are toasting, get the custard ready.  While, I absolutely love Dutch apple pie, today we're just using the apples.  First, scrape off the crumb topping and set aside.

4. Then, you will have access to the apples and all of the sweet gooey goodness.  Make sure to get every last bit!  If necessary, break up any large pieces of apple with your spatula.

Steps 3 & 4

5. Whisk the eggs, evaporated milk, and apple pie filling together.

Side note: I am going to use the crumb topping for a peach crumble and the pie crust for a custard pie.  That's three dessert shortcuts in one!

6. Once the croissants are finished toasting, place them in a 9" x 13" baking dish.

7. Pour the custard mixture over the croissant cubes.

8. Let set for about 10 minutes, turning halfway through to make sure the liquid is absorbed.

9. In the meantime, cut up 9 of the coconut macaroons into small pieces.

Don't the macaroon crumbles look a little bit like the grilled fish in my fish taco recipe?

10. Crumble over the top of the bread pudding and press in slightly.

11. Bake at 300 degrees until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

12. Cool slightly, then cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar.

Enjoy your fabulous bread pudding!  This is now definitely a favorite around here.  Do you know how I know?  The next morning, I found a few squares missing that were definitely there the night before.

Since it is more of a subtle sweetness, feel free to add more sugar, raisins, or other sweeteners to the custard mix.  Also, I chose apples since it is a perfect for a fall dessert, but you could do the same thing with other Smart & Final (#ChooseSmart) First Street Bakery items, like their peach or pumpkin pies.  Click here to see my Google Plus album for pictures of my shopping trip!

With the holidays around the corner, I know that we will have more family get togethers and that means more baking this season!  Is it strange that I'm going to bookmark my own recipe for later?  This recipe is so easy, I may just leave it to my guy to put it together from now on.  :)

Happy baking!