Croissant Bread Pudding

This will be my NEW go-to dessert when I'm asked to bring something sweet to someone's house.  It puffs up and browns beautifully.  The Barefoot Contessa is who we have to thank for this one.  I have given it my own twist and it is SUPER!

Ingredients:

• 6 croissants, preferably stale
• 3 large eggs
• 5 large egg yolks
• 5 C. half and half
• 2 t. vanilla extract
• 1 ½ C. sugar
• 1 C. dried cherries
• 1 C. semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, half and half, sugar, and vanilla
3. Slice the croissants in half horizontally and place the bottom half of each croissant into a 10” by 15” casserole dish
4. Sprinkle the cherries and chocolate over the croissants and place the tops on each
5. Pour the custard over the croissants and allow the custard to soak into the croissants for 10 minutes before putting the casserole dish into the oven (You can press down on the croissants, so they absorb more of the custard.)
6. Fill a roasting pan with 1 inch of hot water and place the casserole dish inside of the roasting pan (this is called a water bath for the custard)
7. Tightly over the roasting pan with foil
8. Bake for 45 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for an additional 45 minutes
9. Serve warm or room temperature

Tips and Tricks:

• This can be made with many different ingredients stuffed in the croissants.  I chose cherries and chocolate because it gives the bread pudding a great rich flavor. 
• This is really easy to make, the hardest part is the water bath.
• This makes 10 large sized servings.