By Finals week and I moved through it with the same methodical calm I had built over the past year and a half. AP Chemistry was the hardest exam I had taken — the material was genuinely difficult, no getting around that — but I had studied the right things with the right people and walked out feeling solid. Mr. Okonkwo handed back grades the following week: 95. The two AP papers and the midterm average had me at 96 for the semester. That was what I had worked for and I felt the satisfaction of arriving at a target I had set in September.
AP English Language: 97, which Ms. Whitaker noted was the strongest semester portfolio she had received in three years of teaching the course. I wrote that down. Not to brag — I do not share these numbers with anyone except my parents and MawMaw Shirley — but because documenting evidence of your own progress is not vanity, it is data. You have to know where you are to know where you are going.
Last day of school before Christmas break was Friday and we had the same informal gathering in the common area as last year, with the same small gift exchange. I brought pralines again, two dozen, and they disappeared in the same forty-five-minute window. Marcus said I should have a business. I said I was going to have a career. He said those sounded similar from the outside. I said they were completely different on the inside. He asked how. I said one is yours entirely and the other is what you do for others. He sat with that. So did I.
I drove home on the last Friday of school with Destiny, who had gotten her license in November — she picked me up as a flex of her new capability, which I fully supported. We drove with the windows down in the mild December air and sang along to things we had listened to together since sixth grade. That is what it means to have old friends. Some things do not require updating.
Pralines are my signature and I stand by them — two dozen gone in forty-five minutes is all the review I need. But when I got home that Friday with Destiny still humming along to something we’ve had memorized since middle school, and the semester numbers were sitting in my head like a clean equation balanced on both sides, I wanted to bake something bigger. Pralines are shareable and fast; bread pudding is the kind of thing you make when you want the kitchen to smell like an occasion. This Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce is what I pulled together that evening, mostly because I had cinnamon rolls in the fridge and because anything with a sauce you have to make separately feels appropriately ceremonial.
Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes | Servings: 10
Ingredients
- 2 cans (12.4 oz each) refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing packets reserved
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- Bourbon Sauce:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 3 tablespoons bourbon
Instructions
- Preheat and prep. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with butter or nonstick spray.
- Cut the rolls. Open both cans of cinnamon rolls and cut each roll into quarters. Spread the pieces in an even layer across the prepared baking dish. Set the icing packets aside.
- Make the custard. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, milk, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt until fully combined and smooth.
- Soak the rolls. Pour the custard mixture evenly over the cinnamon roll pieces. Press down gently with a spatula so all the pieces absorb the liquid. Let sit for 10 minutes.
- Bake. Transfer the dish to the oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top is deep golden brown and the center is set with no jiggle. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out mostly clean.
- Make the bourbon sauce. While the pudding bakes, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the sifted powdered sugar until the mixture is smooth. Quickly whisk in the beaten egg, stirring constantly so it doesn’t scramble. Add the bourbon and continue stirring over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat.
- Finish and serve. Remove the pudding from the oven and immediately drizzle the reserved icing packets over the top. Slice into portions and serve warm with the bourbon sauce spooned generously over each piece.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 430 | Protein: 7g | Fat: 20g | Carbs: 56g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 490mg