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.
