New Year's Apple Bread Pudding

On Christmas Eve, my family went out to dinner and, knowing I wanted to make something special for New Year's, I watched as they eyed the dessert menu. When we got home that night, I asked my sister what she was secretly wanting, had my nephew not ordered the Tiramasu. "Do you think you could make Apple Bread pudding?" she asked. Here it is -- my mom and I chose this recipe because it required relatively less butter than most recipes, and well, the proof is in the pudding...!!! Ha, ha, ha! Happy new year! Recipe was taken from a November 2008 Food and Wine feature on bread puddings, both sweet and savory.

Note: We used Drambuie for the brandy -- my sister vouches for it in a cocktail, and it was pretty fantastic and warming in this pudding. "A secret recipe of herbs, spices and heather honey, crafted with aged Scottish whiskeys."

Ingredients:

1 pound of brioche (we bought a boule from Whole Foods with a net weight of 18 ounces; it worked perfectly with the rest of these measurements)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 gala apples (I know, you're supposed to use green ones for baking, but I'm still holding onto Christmas here!)
1 cup white cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup brandy (recipe recommends Calvados; my recommendation is above!)
4 large eggs, beaten
3 cups of milk
1 teaspoon vanilla (recipe calls for a real vanilla bean, which I couldn't find at WF)
whipped cream, which my family opted out on, so I didn't make any!

Begin by chopping your brioche in 1" cubes; the recipe says that you should have 12 cups of brioche! I didn't count, so can't vouch for that! Toast the cubes of bread in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. While the bread is toasting, prepare your apples by dicing them int 1/2" pieces -- you can decide for yourself if you want to peel them; I did not. Melt two tablespoons of butter in a skillet; when the butter is bubbling (but not browning!), add the apples and 1/4 cup of the white sugar. Stir the mixture, coating the apples in butter and sugar, and let them cook for about 15 minutes, as well. Removed the toasted bread cubes from the oven and set aside. When the apples are golden and smelling heavenly, remove them from heat and add the brandy. Let the mixture sit for about five minutes, and then return it to heat for about one minute, until the sugar, butter and brandy create a syrup. Remove from heat. In a large mixing bowl, create your custard by wisking the eggs, the remaining sugar, vanilla and milk. When you are ready, add the toasted bread and apples, stir to coat the bread evenly, and let sit for about five minutes. Add the bread pudding to a greased baking pan, drizzle with remaining butter, and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.