Yum-Tum-Tummy: French Apple Crescent Bread Pudding

A few weeks ago, Aunty Lori issued me a challenge. She said that she had a bag full of mini amaretto filled bottles to get rid of. My mission was to find as many recipes as I could that had amaretto in them.

This was one of the first that I found in one of my Mom's old Pillsbury cookbooks. The book calls it a "casserole," but we soon discovered that it was more of a bread pudding. The apples weren't mushy, but baked perfectly, like the texture of those found in a pie. The cinnamon and sugar matched well with the almonds and amaretto. As the sauce baked, it turned into a creamy custard. Which was a sweet and tasty surprise. The big fear was that the sauce would be absorbed by the pastry, making it squishy and just plan gross. But, it didn't. The pastry was flavorful and flaky.

Tummy Talk: 10 tummies! The dessert was an instant hit with everyone! My boyfriend had 4 or 5 servings and between my parents the leftovers didn't survive the night. The recipe was easy, fun, and very flexible.

Instead of just making one recipe, we tripled it! If you're gonna make it for a party or if you have a sweet tooth, I'd suggest to double or triple the amount of ingredients. This dessert is perfect for any occasion and will please anyone who loves the classic combo of apple and cinnamon. If you don't like amaretto, you will after you try this.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 (8 oz.) can refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 large apple (peeled, cored, & cut into 8 slices)

Sauce:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 Tbsp. amaretto liqueur
1 egg
1/2 cup sliced almonds (I used the pre-sliced honey roasted ones that you'd put on a salad)
*For those concerned moms out there, you can substitute the amaretto with almond extract. *

*If you want to enhance the almond flavor like we did, add about 3 tsp of almond extract.*

1. Heat oven to 375ºF.

2. In a small bowl, combine the 2 Tbsp. sugar and cinnamon: blend well.

3. Separate the crescent dough into 8 triangles & sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over each. Gently press the mixture into each triangle, flattening each slightly.

4. Place apple slice on wide end of each triangle; tuck edges around apple slice. Roll up, starting at wide end; roll to opposite point. Seal all seams. Place, tip side down, in an un-greased baking dish, placing long side of 7 filled crescents around outside edge of dish and 1 in the center.

5. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.