Croissant Bread Pudding with Peaches and Rum
Source: "Just Like a Day in France", by Georgeanne Brennan

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped, peeled fresh California peaches (approximately 2 to
3 peaches)
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp . sugar
3 Tbsp . butter
4 to 5 cups milk
1/3 cup rum
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
5 to 6 day-old croissants, slit in half crosswise

Preheat an oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, combine the peaches with the lemon juice and 2 Tbsp . sugar and gently turn. Let stand while you prepare the pudding. Use 1 tablespoon of the butter to grease a standard loaf pan or other comparable baking dish. Pour the milk into a bowl. If the croissants are still soft, use 4 cups, but if they are quite dry use 5. Beat in the rum, vanilla, the eggs, all but 6 Tbsp . of the remaining sugar, and the salt. Make a layer of croissants in the bottom of the pan, tearing them as necessary to make them fit. Sprinkle the layer with one-third of the peaches. Pour over one-fourth of the milk mixture. Let the croissants soak up a bit of the mixture before continuing. Repeat twice, pushing the layers down as you go, and ending up with a layer of croissants. Sprinkle the remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar over the top layer. Dot it with the remaining butter and bake until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Serve hot or warm, scooped out into bowls. Serves 6.