Pumpkin Maple Bread Pudding

So, the lovely Amy sent me this recipe and I'm not sure where she got it from, but it's amazing. Holy shit.

I just sat down at my desk. This is the first thing I am doing this morning at work. I actually wanted to get up last night and post this. No, ok, I wanted to drive the two hours to your house in the middle of the night, crawl into bed with you, and spoon feed you a bowl of this. It's that good. You will die. Everyone is going to die when they eat this. I died.

This is everything I ever needed for fall. It's sweet and gooey, but not overpowering. It's the perfect amount of sugar, the perfect blend of spices, the perfect texture. It's absolutely unbelieveable. And it's EASY. It's so freakin' easy that I almost don't understand it. And the smell while you're cooking it? Will and I just hung out in the living room so we could be closer to the smell. We just sat around and sniffed at the air like cats.

Just...just make this. Tonight. Please.

Pumpkin Maple Bread Pudding

1.5 cups heavy cream
one 16 oz can pumpkin puree (2 cups)
4 large eggs
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (I agree with Amy here, just get it from a damn jar)
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
9 cups torn egg bread* or leftover croissaints (Albertson's makes delicious, huge, buttery croissants 4 or 6 to a pack for very cheap in the bakery...I can't remember how many come in each, but I do know I used two packs, with two croissants leftover. Or eaten before this was ever made. Whatever.)

Coat the insert of a 5-to-7 quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray or line with a slow-cooker liner.

Whisk all the ingredients except the bread in a large mixing bowl until smooth.

Add the bread to the bowl and stir to soak the bread.

Transfer the mixture to the slow-cooker insert.

Cover and cook on high for about 3.5 hours, until puffed and an instant-read thermometer registers 185 degrees.

Allow the pudding to rest for about 30 minutes.

THAT'S IT. Also, serve with whipped cream. Eat in bed out of tiny bowls while you watch Magnum PI on DVD because nothing good's on TV. Get seconds. Laugh at Higgins.

*I have NO IDEA what egg bread is, but it reminds me of the egg cream scene in Squirm, so I just quoted MST all night. Telling your slow cooker that you're going to Willem Dafoe all over it does not make it speed up, sadly. I accidentally married one of the sheep!

(I still have the soup recipe from Emmy to try that we had talked about...hopefully it will stop being SUMMER and we can do that soon)