Bread and butter pudding

I had some leftover bread in the fridge and was contemplating chucking them.

Should I steam the bread? Or make some french toast?

How about some bread and butter pudding?

What better way to use up stale bread? :) Bread and butter pudding is the ultimate comfort food and would be a canny way for using up bread/buns/loafs that are almost past their best.

This sweet, rich and stodgy dessert goes great with custard or ice cream, and in this unforgivingly cold (and sometimes wet) weather, I think it pairs best with a cup of hot cocoa. For a little extra kick, you can soak the raisins in rum or add a shot of liquor to the egg mixture.

Bread and butter pudding makes a warm, comforting dessert, perfect for an after-dinner treat. It reheats well in the oven (covered with a foil so it doesn't dry out too much), so you can have the warmed leftovers for breakfast on a cold morning too! :)

What?

• 4 slices of bread
• Butter for greasing and buttering
• Raisins
• Ground nutmeg
• Ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 25 g sugar

How?

1. Cut the crusts off bread and slice it diagonally into triangles.
2. Spread the bread with butter and place a layer in a greased dish, butter side up. Sprinkle the layer of bread with raisins, nutmeg and cinnamon (to taste!),
3. Add another layer of buttered bread. Alternate with the raisins, nutmeg and cinnamon until all the bread have been used. 
4. Warm the milk to about 65 degC (do not boil).
5. Beat the egg with half of the sugar and stir it into the warm milk.
6. Strain the egg mixture over the bread, and sprinkle the top with raisins, nutmeg, cinnamon and the remaining sugar. 
7. Leave it to stand for 30 minutes.
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degC for 30-40 minutes until the custard has set and the top slightly browned.

"I want to marry you" cookies

Recently, my social media newsfeed page has been constantly flooded with updates of proposals, engagement, and marriages. While scrolling down the page, you'd see pretty bouquets, flashy rings, white gowns and sometimes even lengthy declaration of love and "thanksgiving" speeches (especially on those auspicious weekends!). All these "signs" on social media is actually pretty much indicative of the phase in life where people of my age are supposed to be, if everyone else is taken to be the benchmark.

In the midst of all the fancy-frilly-lovey-dovey, a photo labelled "Marry me cookies" caught my eye.

Did someone bake cookies for a proposal?

Well they say that the best way to someone's heart is through the stomach.

This should be a damn good cookie then.

I found out later that these cookies aren't particularly made for a proposal, but it has been said that they were so good to a point that upon gifting them, love would usually ensue. I, for one, find it most remarkable that these cookies were made all in one pan. In place of creaming the butter and sugar as in most cookie recipes, it was intriguing that this particular one simply melts the butter and sugars in the pan and literally have everything else mixed in after. You get the rich toffee flavour from the dissolved sugar in hot melted butter, crispy outsides with soft centers, and that mysteriously unique cinnamon flavour - all these without the need to wash up extra mixing bowls or a mixer after! I would marry that.

Try these, whether in need for inspiring or eliciting a marriage proposal or not. ;)

What?

• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated (white) sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup uncooked rolled oats
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamom
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup chocolate chips

How?

1.  Melt the butter in a saucepan until melted. Remove from the heat.
2.  Stir in the brown sugar and white sugar until incorporated and smooth. Chill in the fridge for 10 min.
3. Remove from the fridge and stir in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla.
4. Add the flour, oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and mix together.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips.
6. Roll the batter into 1-1/2 inch sized balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
7. Place the baking sheet into the fridge and chill for 30 minutes.
8. Bake the chilled cookies in a preheated oven at 160 degC (325 degF) for 12 to 14 minutes.
9. Allow the cookies to cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them onto a cooling rack.

Adapated from: Cooking channel