Creamy cookie butter sandwiched between buttery croissants, soaked in a rich vanilla custard, and generously sprinkled with a crispy Biscoff streusel. Add a drizzle of white chocolate cookie butter ganache and you have the most decadent bread pudding imaginable!
It’s no secret that I have a bit of a love affair with bread pudding. There’s truly nothing more comforting than a warm bowl of bread pudding straight from the oven. That’s why I’ve made it my lifelong mission to come up with as many bread pudding variations as possible.
It’s a noble pursuit, for sure. And not one that I take lightly. After all, there are ENDLESS possibilities in the land of bread pudding that have yet to be discovered. And today, you’re about to witness the most heavenly matrimony of deliciousness you’ve EVER seen. (Melodramatic much, Jillian?)
I give you…COOKIE BUTTER BREAD PUDDING!!!
If you’re wondering, YES, it’s as exquisitely divine as it looks…
This bread pudding is literally BRIMMING with cookie butter. Not only are the croissants stuffed with cookie butter, but the whole thing is topped with a perfectly crisp Biscoff streusel. Annnnnnndd it’s drizzled in the most luxurious white chocolate cookie butter ganache.
Since I made my Blackberry Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding a few months ago, I’ve been DYING to make another one using the same technique. Instead of simply slicing up the croissants and soaking them in the custard, I filled each croissant with a buttery brown sugar-cinnamon filling. This technique was an absolute game changer for me since the possibilities were endless!
So this time around, I decided to fill the croissants with cookie butter–a HEFTY amount of cookie butter at that!
As always, I prefer to use croissants in my bread pudding since they’re like buttery little pillows and they soak up the custard so well. However, you’re more than welcome to use brioche, challah, or French bread. Just make sure that the bread is stale/dry, so that it can soak up all that flavorful custard. If your bread isn’t quite stale enough, all you have to do is slice it up, place it on a baking sheet, and heat in a preheated 350ºF oven for 8-10 minutes.
After each croissant is generously filled with cookie butter, cut them up into 4 or 5 pieces, and place them into a greased baking dish. I like to treat this step as a puzzle, so that everything is nice and evenly compact.
Now it’s time to make the delicious custard that these buttery croissants are soaked in. You’ll start by whisking some granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, a few egg yolks, and one whole egg together. The reason why I remove most of the egg whites is to prevent that not-so-appetizing sulfuric taste. Ewww….
Once the milk and heavy cream have been incorporated into the custard, pour it evenly over the bread, making sure that every single croissant gets completely saturated in the custard. You want the bread to soak up ALL of that amazing flavor.
When it comes to bread pudding, the more time it has to soak, the better. That’s why I typically make it up the night before and bake it the next morning. I wouldn’t go past 18 hours. Also, if you choose the overnight method, allow the bread pudding to sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking it in the oven.
But BEFORE the bread pudding is ready to go into the oven, you need to make the buttery Biscoff streusel first! All you have to do is toss together some melted butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and finely-crushed Biscoff cookies. You can usually find these cookies in the snack aisle of your grocery store. You can also use Speculoos cookies, which are sold at Trader Joes.
After you crumble the delicious Biscoff streusel on top of the bread pudding, bake it in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is nice and toasty and you can see some bubbling action along the sides of the baking dish. While the bread pudding is baking, you can make the white chocolate cookie butter ganache!
Now, at first I planned on making a simple white chocolate ganache. However, my curiosity got the better of me, and I added just a little bit of cookie butter to it. Needless to say, the added flavor of the cookie butter took the ganache from “meh” to “f*** yeah!”
I promise you, this Cookie Butter Bread Pudding will be a dessert your tastebuds will NEVER forget!
EVER…
Cookie Butter Bread Pudding
Ingredients
- 14 ounces croissants (about 6 croissants)
- 1 cup creamy cookie butter (Biscoff or Speculoos spread)
Custard:
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
Biscoff Streusel Topping:
- 4 Tablespoons butter, melted
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 5 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 10 Biscoff/Speculoos cookies, finely crushed
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
White Chocolate Cookie Butter Ganache:
- 6 ounces white chocolate, chips or chopped
- 1 Tablespoon creamy cookie butter (Biscoff or Speculoos spread)
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Slice each croissant in half, as you would for a sandwich. Lay each half flat on a baking sheet. Bake until dry and toasted, about 8-10 minutes.* Allow croissants to cool for 5 minutes.
- Spread the cookie butter onto half of the croissant halves. Top each cookie butter half with a bare half, making a sandwich. Cut each croissant sandwich into 4-5 pieces.
Make the Custard:
- In a large bowl, whisk the sugars, egg yolks, whole egg, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt together until smooth. Stir in the heavy cream and milk until combined.
- Place croissant pieces into a greased 8-inch square baking dish. Pour the custard evenly over the croissants, gently pressing down on the bread to ensure that all of the pieces are completely saturated in the custard. Allow to sit and soak for at least an hour**.
Make the Streusel Topping:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. In a medium bowl, stir the butter, flour, brown sugar, crushed cookies, and cinnamon together until combined. Sprinkle streusel topping evenly over the bread pudding.
- Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until golden and toasty. Allow to cool slightly for 20 minutes.
Make the Ganache:
- Place the white chocolate and cookie butter into a medium bowl.
- Pour the heavy cream into a small saucepan, and heat it up on the stove until it begins to simmer. Immediately pour the hot cream over the white chocolate, and wrap bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.
- Remove the plastic wrap, and stir the mixture until smooth and creamy.
- To serve, slice/scoop bread pudding into bowls. Drizzle with ganache, and enjoy!