HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE PUDDING

Old habits die hard and even though I've been retired almost 7 years, I still love a snow day. When I checked the fridge for WW approved,  low carb snacks, I realized we were out of DSO's favorite Jello mousse. Having a whole day before me with no "must do's," I decided to find a recipe for a lightened chocolate pudding. I found a likely candidate on the Cooking Light website.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup)

Ingredients

• 1/2  cup  granulated sugar
• 1/3  cup  unsweetened cocoa
• 3  tablespoons  cornstarch
• 3  tablespoons  dark brown sugar
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt
• 4  cups  2% reduced-fat milk
• 3  large egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 2  ounces  bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract

Preparation

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large saucepan. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Place egg yolks in a bowl. Gradually add hot milk mixture to egg yolks, stirring constantly. Return milk mixture to pan. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until mixture is thick, stirring constantly. Remove mixture from heat, and add chopped chocolate and vanilla extract, stirring until the chocolate melts. Spoon pudding into a small bowl. Place bowl in a large ice-filled bowl for 15 minutes or until pudding is cool, stirring occasionally. Remove bowl from ice; cover and chill.

TASTE NOTES

This was just a bit more complicated than making a boxed chocolate pudding, but the results were oh, so much better. While I wouldn't consider this low carb (43 g) or an everyday treat (8 WW pts), it was a lovely, comforting bowl of chocolatey goodness. Many people have never tasted real pudding and don't realize how different it tastes from pudding cups or instant pudding. Next time you have a snow day, try it.