Chocolate milk Pudding recipe

With a toddler needing my attention just about every minute, there is precious little time to invest in fancy stuff. To be honest, I'm not so fancy to begin with. As I've stressed in this blog, if it's not easy I just won't bother. And this, my friends, is one of the easiest puddings I've ever made.

We were in the health food store the other day, and my son, who enjoys tearing off without me and then grabbing expensive items he wants me to buy, had something in his sticky hands. He happened to pick up some Ronnybrook chocolate milk, which at $1.25 was just fine with me. Thing is, once I opened it on the bench outside, with a bendy straw and everything, he decided he didn't want it. I wasn't totally surprised, this guy doesn't really like chocolate. But it is mind boggling. I think it surprises him, too. He always asks for it, then realizes he doesn't really care for it.

Once home, I thought, "should I just guzzle this thing down? Save it for Steve?" Nahhh. With a bit of leftover cream in the house I thought chocolate milk pudding would be the answer. I adapted this recipe from the Joy of Cooking. It is soft and creamy, not very rich or chocolate-y, which shouldn't deter you from this simple, home-cooked pudding.

Once, at a garage sale, I bought some pudding ramekins and the woman selling them to me sighed that no one made pudding any more. I do! It's such comforting fare, and if you serve them in little four ounce canning jars, you can stash them in your snack bag with a little spoon and have it at work, a picnic or at the playground.

Yield: 4 four-ounce jars and one little bowl for tasting right away!

1 cup Ronnybrook chocolate milk (or any good, local whole chocolate milk)
3/4 cup of heavy cream
1/4 cup of sugar
pinch o'salt

Heat over medium-low heat until it reaches just below a simmer. Meanwhile, mix up these ingredients until smooth:

3 tablespoons of cornstarch
1/4 cup of milk

Add this mixture slowly into the heated chocolate and cream, stirring constantly until it almost simmers again. Turn down the temperature and stir well, you will see it start to thicken and get to that pudding consistency. Turn off the heat and add a good teaspoon of vanilla. Mix well, and pour into your jars. Let them cool down and then put them in the fridge with lids on them. If you don't like a skin to form on your pudding, put plastic wrap on the surface.

I haven't tried this yet, but I'll bet these would make darn good pudding pops. You know, frozen pudding? Hmm...