Spice Up Your Holidays With Thai Kitchen!

The holidays are fast approaching, which means lots of time with family and friends – and the same traditional holiday food, year after year. This year, Thai Kitchen has offered to help all of us avoid the meat-and-potato burnout and add some variety to the holiday season with creative, flavorful Thai-influenced dishes.

Last week, the company sent me some products to sample. Fish sauce, red curry paste, you name it. And while I'm excited to try each and every one of them, it was seeing the lone can of coconut milk that sent me straight to my kitchen.

Double Coconut Cupcakes

Double Coconut Cupcakes

I baked two dozen impossibly tender and coconut-infused white cupcakes. These petite cakes are easily among my favorite desserts. They've got one heavy dose of coconut from the milk, which adds tremendous moisture, and another from sweetened flakes of coconut. The milk is thick and rich, and it has the most lovely aroma. I've used it before in Thai dishes with delicious results, but pouring it into my desserts has been even better. I'd venture a guess that it can be used in place of cow's milk and other nondairy milks in baking with beautiful results, as the flavor is fairly subtle.

A big thank you to Thai Kitchen for allowing me to try my hand at baking with their coconut milk! And because I don't believe in the phrase, "too much of a good thing," we've got another coconutty recipe to try below! Thai Kitchen has shared with me a recipe that sounds better than any holiday dessert I've come across this season: Coconut Pumpkin Bread Pudding! Enjoy it, and if you decide to try it, let us know how it turns out!

Coconut Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Makes 16 servings.

2 cans (14 oz. each) Thai Kitchen® Coconut Milk
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
8 cups challah, French or Italian bread cubes
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
Spiced Maple Syrup (recipe follows)

POUR Coconut Milk into large bowl. Mix with wire whisk until smooth. Add eggs, sugar, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla; mix until well blended. Add bread cubes; toss to coat well. Pour into greased 13x9-inch baking dish. Let stand 10 minutes. Sprinkle evenly with coconut and pecans.

BAKE in preheated 350°F oven 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool slightly on wire rack. Serve bread pudding with Spiced Maple Syrup.

Spiced Maple Syrup: Mix 1 cup maple syrup, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice in microwavable bowl or measuring cup. Microwave on HIGH 1 minute or until warm, stirring once.

For more information on Thai Kitchen and to order products, visit their website: http://www.thaikitchen.com/