Description
This recipe is perfect for a holiday potluck (but don’t count on having any leftovers!). I’ve created it to be very subtly sweet so it can be served with maple syrup. It’s extremely flexible so feel free to adjust to your liking. One variation I love is adding cranberries and orange zest.
Ingredients
- 1 loaf Crusty High Quality Bread (about 1.75 Pound Loaf)
- ½ cups Butter (salted)
- 8 ounces, weight Cream Cheese (1 Brick)
- 12 whole Eggs (large)
- 1-½ cup Eggnog
- ½ cups Half-and-half
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
- ¾ cups Sugar
- ½ teaspoons Nutmeg
- ½ teaspoons Cinnamon
Preparation
1. Cut bread into 1 inch cubes and place them into a the baking dish.
2. Microwave butter until melted then add cream cheese and microwave in 30 second increments stirring until fully softened.
3. Whisk butter/cream cheese mixture until it’s the texture of buttercream.
4. In a large bowl whisk the eggs, eggnog, half and half, and vanilla until incorporated.
5. Add the butter/cream cheese to the egg mixture and whisk (it won’t fully blend but you should have small bits of the cream cheese instead of large chunks).
6. Add sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon to taste (if you’re worried about the raw eggs use pasteurized eggs to reduce the risk of salmonella).
7. Pour evenly over the bread cubes, gently scoop to ensure even distribution.
8. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.
Fast forward to the next morning…
Pull the casserole out of the fridge (cover with foil) and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375° and bake on the center rack for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes.
