Cranberry Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

If you don't have a pressure cooker, this recipe can be baked in the oven for 1 hour- 350 degrees with a dish of water on the bottom rack of the oven.

Cranberry Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding
(Pressure Cooker- Lorna Sass- adapted by Melanie Clark)

butter for greasing the casserole dish
4 large croissants
3 large eggs
1 ½ cups half and half
1/3 to ½ cup sugar (or use 1/4 c. agave or xagave)
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tsp. grated orange zest
2 tsp. vanilla
½-1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chipped dark chocolate
2 T. toasted slivered almonds, for garnish (opt)
sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for garnish (opt)
½- 1 cup dried cranberries

Prepare foil strip to lower the casserole into the cooker by cutting a 1 ½ ft. long piece of standard width aluminum foil. Double it twice lengthwise to create a long strip. Set aside.

Grease the bottom and sides of a round, heat-proof casserole with butter. Set aside. Tear croissants into bite-size pieces.

Lightly beat the eggs. Whisk in the half-and-half, sugar, salt, orange zest, and vanilla. Distribute 3 T. of the mixture on the bottom of the prepared casserole.

Arrange about 1/3 of croissant pieces in the casserole and pour about one-third of the remaining egg mixture over them. Sprinkle with 2 T. of the chocolate chips and dried cranberries. Make two more layers of bread, egg mixture, chocolate chips, and dried cranberries, and gently press down the layers as you go. (I usually only get one more layer.) Distribute the remaining 2 T. of chocolate chips and cranberries among those already scattered on top.

Pour 2 cups waters into a 4-quart or larger cooker. Set a rack or trivet in the bottom of the cooker to lift the pudding off the bottom. Center the uncovered casserole on the foil strip and lower it onto the rack.

Fold down the ends of the strip so that they don’t interfere with closing the cooker. Lock the lid in place. Over high heat bring to high pressure. Reduce the heat just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat. Allow the pressure to come down naturally. Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to allow steam to escape.

Let the steam subside before lifting the casserole from the cooker with the aid of the foil strip. Set on a wire rack. Use a knife or spatula to gently spread the top layer of chips into a frosting.

Let the pudding rest for at least 5 minutes before serving. Serve warm or chilled, garnish with the toasted almonds and whipped cream or ice cream, if desired.