Cooking With Kids: How to Make Easy Muffin Bread Pudding

Small Platesis where Epicurious dishes on cooking for families and kids.

Bread puddingis delicious, butmuffinbread pudding takes the treat to a whole new level. Warm, gooey, comforting, and sweet, this take on the classic dish is great for cooking with kids as it's simple enough for any child to make for母亲节or any other special occasion (with just a little help from an adult if needed). All you need is 30 minutes and a few grocery-store staples, including store-bought muffins, which work just as well as homemade ones in this dish.

To test out my muffin bread pudding technique, I invited my coworkerAnya's daughters to come help me out in the Epi Test Kitchen for an afternoon. Ruby, 8, and Tema, 5, proved to be excellent muffin slicers and egg-crackers—and we only got a few eggshells in our bowl (easily fished out with the tip of a finger).

Here's how to make muffin bread pudding when cooking with kids:

1. Fill a baking dish with muffin slices

Start with any kind of standard-size store-bought muffin you like, or that you know Mom likes. (Ruby and Tema and I used blueberry muffins.) One muffin per person is a good rule to follow. Then discard the wrappers and cut them into 1-inch slices. This can be done with a kid-safe butter knife. Arrange the muffin slices into a well-greased baking dish, and set aside.

2. Mix up some eggs and milk

Crack one egg per muffin into a large bowl. For each egg, add 3 tablespoons of whole milk and whisk it all together. This is where the kids might need the help of an adult or a calculator to do a little math—or think of it as a great opportunity to practice multiplication tables. 4 x 3 tablespoons = 12 tablespoons = 3/4 cup milk. Add a pinch of cinnamon or a splash of vanilla if you like.

3. Assemble and Bake

Pour the egg and milk mixture over the muffins, then press the muffins down with your hands to make sure that they're fully coated with the liquid. Now bake in a 325°F oven for about 20 to 25 minutes, until the top is golden-brown and the pudding doesn't jiggle when shaken. Let sit at least five minutes, then dust the top with powdered sugar.

4. Serve it to mom!

Drizzled with maple syrup or sprinkled with powdered sugar and enjoyed with a hot cup of coffee, muffin bread pudding can be an indulgent warming breakfast. It can also be served as part of a decadent brunch spread, or as an afternoon sweet snack. Or make it for dessert after dinner and serve it hota la mode—the ice cream will melt into a wonderful sauce.

No matter how you serve it, as long as it's served by the hands of her children, it's bound to make Mom feel proud and lucky this Sunday.