Holiday bread pudding

I'm off work today so after some coffee and a shower, I did a little shopping. We're having a gift exchange at work so I purchased that gift, then got gas and lead additive for Big Ella in preparation for tonight's parade, and deposited some checks at the bank. Back at home I assembled the Christmas tree and put the wreaths on the doors, then decided to make my own new recipe for holiday bread pudding.

Bread pudding is usually made with stale French bread, but my idea was to make it with Panettone. Panettone is kind of like a drier, lighter version of fruit cake, popular among Italians. Since I've been with Spouse we've always had Panettone at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since Panettone already contains raisins and spices, it makes it really easy to make bread pudding. In addition, I added Craisins, walnuts, and spooned 'ribbons' of cranberry sauce into the batter for a holiday touch. It came out really good so I shared it with Steven & Thad, Joe P, and the Bobs.

Here's how to make my Holiday Bread Pudding:

Ingredients

• Panettone bread, at least a day old, cut into cubes, about 6-7 cups
• 1 qt milk
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 3 Tbsp melted butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees; spray 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl soak the Panettone in the milk, making sure all the bread is thoroughly moistened.
   
3. In a separate bowl lightly beat eggs, sugar, vanilla, and melted butter. Gently stir this mixture into the bread/milk mixture. Optional: fold in Craisins and/or chopped walnuts.
4. Pour mixture into the baking pan. Optional: spoon in 'ribbons' of cranberry sauce. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until set. The pudding is done when the edges start to brown and pull away from the pan.
   

Eat it as-is, or top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Please let me know if you make this and how you like it!