Laurels Kitchen Vanilla Pudding Recipes

VANILLA PUDDING

Steps:

• Heat 4 cups of the milk in a large saucepan over medium heat until steaming.
• Whisk the sugar, cornstarch and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Whisk in the egg yolks and the remaining 1/2 cup milk.
• Whisk half of the hot milk into the egg mixture until smooth, then gradually whisk the egg-milk mixture into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture boils. Continue to cook, whisking constantly, until it has thickened to a puddinglike consistency, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
• Cool slightly, stirring a few times to prevent a skin from forming. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the pudding and refrigerate until completely cooled and thickened, about 4 hours.
• Before serving, whisk the pudding vigorously until smooth and creamy.
• Stir-ins:
• Cookies and Cream: Crush 20 chocolate wafer cookies, stir some into the pudding and top with the rest.
• Fresh Berries and Gingersnaps: Fold in 2 cups of fresh, mixed berries and top with about 12 finely crushed gingersnaps.
• Vanilla-Banana: Fold in 3 sliced bananas. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Fold in 24 crushed vanilla wafer cookies and top with more sliced bananas.
• Rocky Road: Fold in 1 cup each mini marshmallows and toasted chopped walnuts and 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips. Sprinkle with more chocolate chips.
• Peanut Butter* and Jelly (See Cook's Note): Fold in 1 cup quartered red grapes and 1/3 cup each chopped roasted peanuts and peanut butter chips. Top with whole grapes.

LAUREL'S KITCHEN VANILLA PUDDING

Steps:

• Gently heat 1 1/2 cup of the milk in a saucepan or double boiler on medium heat.
• Once the milk is very hot but NOT BOILING, stir in the brown sugar and salt.
• Whisk together the arrowroot (or cornstarch) and the remaining milk. Add to the saucepan, cooking and stirring constantly over low to medium-low heat until the mixture starts to thickens. Be careful not to burn or scorch the pudding!
• In a small heatproof bowl, whisk the egg then gently pour in about 1 cup of the pudding mixture. Whisk quickly to incorporate and to avoid curdling the egg. Add this mixture back to the saucepan and continue stirring constantly until mixture is thickened.
• Once thickened, turn off heat and set the pan aside to cool about 15 minutes.
• Stir in the vanilla extract.
• If desired, top the pudding with toasted nuts for garnish.
• Serve warm or cold.

TASTY VANILLA PUDDING

Steps:

• Get out a 3 quart saucepan. Combine the sugar and cornstarch. Slowly stir in the milk. I use a whisk to make sure the cornstarch doesn't get lumpy. If the milk is cold, so much the better, (cornstarch dissolves quicker in cold liquids) Heat the pudding over medium heat. Stir constantly,Keep stirring it until it boils.
• Wait a minute, so that it boils for a full minute.
• Next crack your egg into a cereal bowl. Scoop a bit of the hot pudding into the bowl with the egg. Stir the egg up pretty fast (so it doesn't cook in the hot pudding) until it is well mixed. Then put the egg/pudding mixture back into the pot. Whisk it up smooth. Bring the pudding back to a boil and then remove it from the stove. Drop in the butter and the vanilla. Stir until butter melts.
• Pour it into small resealable plastic containers if you want to send it in a lunch box.

HOMEMADE VANILLA PUDDING

Steps:

• In medium saucepan over medium heat, heat milk until bubbles form at edges. In a bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Pour into hot milk, a little at a time, stirring to dissolve. Continue to cook and stir until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Do not boil. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and butter. Pour into serving dishes. Chill before serving.