Butterscotch Pudding - Yum!!

By Diane Forrest,

Have you noticed that all the food holidays are National holidays?  Wonder why that is, I mean, there is no presidential proclamation or days off from work, no parades or holiday greeting cards.  I dont even know who picked these days or why.  But today is National Butterscotch Pudding day.   Butterscotch may not be as popular as vanilla or chocolate. But, it sure is good. If you like butterscotch, just the thought of butterscotch pudding has already got your mouth watering in eager anticipation.

I love butterscotch pudding, the boss does too.  However neither of us eat much of it, so today is a good time to enjoy some.  You can make your own with a box of instant pudding mix, or even one of those little pudding cups.  You can even make it from scratch from the recipe below.  However you choose to make it, I hope you enjoy some butterscotch pudding today!  Would hate to call the food police on you for not celebrating!

Butterscotch Pudding

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups whole, 2 percent fat, or 1 percent fat milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

In a large saucepan, combine the milk and cream and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Immediately turn off the heat and set aside. In a large, heavy skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the brown sugar, raise the heat to medium-high, and cook 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly, to caramelize the mixture. You'll smell a characteristic nutty-caramel odor when the butter browns, signaling that the mixture is ready.

Whisking constantly, gradually add the butter/brown sugar mixture to the hot milk/cream mixture. If the mixture isn't smooth, blend for 20 seconds with a hand blender or pour through a fine sieve. Put the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Whisk in about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture. Whisk in the cornstarch and salt until dissolved. Whisk the cornstarch mixture back into the hot milk mixture in the saucepan. Whisking constantly, cook over medium-high heat until thick and just boiling. When the mixture thickens, the whisk will leave trail marks on the bottom of the pot and the mixture will have a few large bubbles boiling up to the top. Turn off the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract. Pour into 6 to 8 custard cups, ramekins, or mugs and chill, uncovered, at least 2 hours or overnight. Serve chilled.

To Go Cups

{This article was to be posted on September 19th - sorry for the delay.  Do hope you enjoy - D' boss}