Weekly Recipe from Granny Sprigs (or, How Not to Lose Weight)

Growing up with a mother who was raised as a Country Girl, who farmed the fields with her dad and helped her mom with feeding the family and farmhands, I learned a lot about both farming and cooking. Sadly, I’m not great at either, but my appreciation for those who are is immense. My mother (nicknamed, “Granny Sprigs”), on the other hand, absorbed my Gram’s culinary genius and took it to another level. One mouth-watering treat I still lust after is my mom’s Old Fashioned Bread Pudding with Butter Rum Sauce. Just the sound of that luscious mixture brings back so many memories and leaves me wanting more.

Whereas many bread pudding recipes call for day-old French bread, Granny Sprigs’s delight uses day-old homemade biscuits. Use either, but I must say, having devoured both, the subtle accents of butter, salt, and, yes, even lard from the biscuits enhances the pudding eating pleasure by leaps. I’ll publish her biscuit recipe next week.

Note: Although it isn’t mandatory, I highly recommend using vintage cooking pots, utensils, and baking dishes. Each one of them carries its own history, and I like to think they add their own flavor and ambiance to the completed recipe.

GRANNY SPRIGS’S OLD FASHIONED BREAD PUDDING with BUTTER RUM SAUCE

• 6 cups torn day-old, homemade biscuits
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup molasses
• 2 3/4 cups milk
• 4 beaten eggs
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ⅔ cup golden raisins
• 1/2 cup rum, divided

Tear the day-old biscuits into largish pieces and place in a large mixing bowl.

Using a medium size saucepan, melt the brown sugar, molasses, milk, butter, cinnamon, vanilla, golden raisins, and 1/2 of the rum (1/4 c.). Stir constantly with a vintage wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved. Pour over bread and allow to soak for 30 minutes. Avoid allowing this to boil.

Make sure the bread is completely saturated with the egg and milk mixture. Pour into a buttered baking dish and bake for 40-50 minutes until the top is browned and the middle is set. Do not overbake or the bread pudding will become dry.

• ⅓ cup heavy cream
• 1 cup white sugar
• ½ cup butter
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 of the rum

Melt the heavy cream, white sugar, and butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Do not boil, as the mixture will crystallize. When sugar has dissolved, add the rest of the rum (1/4 c.). Keep the sauce warm, while waiting to serve.

Serve the pudding by scooping it out of the baking dish with a large spoon into small bowls.

Finally, pour the warm sauce over each scoop before serving. Take liberties with the recipe and serving of this lovely dish. Make it your own! I hope you enjoy ~ see you next week!