Stuffed Pumpkin with Cranberry-Raisin Bread Pudding

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

• 1  (2 1/2- to 3-pound) pumpkin*
• 2  tablespoons  butter or margarine, melted and divided
• 2  tablespoons  sugar, divided
• 2  large eggs
• 1/2  cup  sugar
• 1/2  cup  butter or margarine, melted
• 3/4  cup  half-and-half
• 3/4  cup  chopped pecans, toasted
• 1  (16-ounce) raisin bread loaf, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/2  cup  fresh cranberries
• Lemon-Vanilla Sauce

Preparation

Cut off top of pumpkin, reserving lid with stem. Scoop out pumpkin seeds and pulp, and reserve for another use. Brush inside of pumpkin shell with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Top with lid.

Bake at 350° for 35 minutes.

Brush inside of baked pumpkin shell with 1 tablespoon butter; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.

Stir together eggs and next 6 ingredients; spoon pudding mixture into a lightly greased 8-inch square pan.

Bake pumpkin and bread pudding at 350° for 25 minutes. Let pumpkin cool; spoon bread pudding evenly into pumpkin shell. Serve with Lemon-Vanilla Sauce.

Note: For individual servings, substitute 12 (1/2-pound) pumpkins. Scoop out seeds and pulp; sprinkle each pumpkin shell with 1 teaspoon butter and 1 teaspoon sugar, and bake with the bread pudding. (Do not prebake as with the larger pumpkin.) Spoon bread pudding evenly into baked pumpkin shells.