WOW! I got more responses about last week’s newsletter about Breakfast Bread Pudding than any other newsletter to date. And, I’m still getting emails saying how much people like it and suggesting customizations. This got me thinking about ways to customize the Breakfast Bread Pudding and Breakfast Cookie recipes. Customize? You bet! Most recipes can be customized to suit your tastes. Now, you do have to be careful with most baking (like cakes), but the Breakfast Bread Pudding and Breakfast Cookie are great for customizing. One note – when you customize you do change the nutrition content a bit . . . depending on what you customize.
Here are some thoughts for customizing the Bread Pudding Omit the raisins and add one of the following:
- A chopped up an apple or two or some chunky applesauce
- Mashed up bananas and walnuts
- Chocolate chips
- Other dried fruit such as cranberries, blueberries
Or, in addition to the raisins (or other customization) add some chopped nuts – walnuts, pecans, etc. Nuts will add some healthy fats as well as add some crunch.
Some of the same customizations can be made for the Breakfast Cookie Rather than raisins you can add another dried fruit and add chopped nuts. You could also substitute chocolate chips for the raisins. Another customization could be to add some PB2 (a powdered peanut butter which is good for cooking and smoothies) along with some chocolate chips instead of the raisins (I’d also leave out the cinnamon) to have a peanut butter-chocolate chip breakfast cookie. You may need to add a little water or extra apple sauce to make up for the dryness of the PB2.
Another friend found a way to speed up the breakfast cookie preparation even more. She puts all the dry ingredients in plastic baggies during the weekend. Then, when she is ready to make her cookie, she puts the applesauce in the baggie and squishes it until it is mixed. Then, she cuts out a corner of the baggie and squeezes the mix onto the parchment paper and bakes it. Done with no dishes! How cool is that?
Get inspired. Think about what flavors you like and play around with the recipes. You may need to make a few adjustments (like adding a little more of a wet ingredient to make up for adding more of a dry ingredient such as the PB2). Some modifications will work, some may not. But, it is fun to try!
Let me know how you customize your Bread Pudding and Breakfast Cookie!
