Pioneer Woman 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.

FANCY BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch baking dish.
• Arrange the bread cubes tightly in the prepared baking dish. Beat together the butter, milk, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl. Add the granulated and brown sugars, whiskey and cinnamon and mix until the sugars are dissolved. Pour the mixture over the bread. Sprinkle the cherries and pecans all over.
• Put the baking dish on a baking sheet. Bake until the crust is golden brown, 55 to 70 minutes. Let rest for 20 minutes before serving with Whiskey Cream Sauce.
• Combine the butter, cream, sugar and whiskey in a saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches a low boil. Pour a small amount over the individual servings of bread pudding.

WHITE CHOCOLATE PUDDING

Steps:

• For the crumb base: Throw the cookies and melted butter into a food processor and pulverize. Spoon some into the bottom of the serving glasses and set aside.
• For the pudding: Combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan. Stir or whisk together. Pour in the milk and egg yolks and whisk together. Add the vanilla. Stir over medium heat until the mixture just barely comes to a boil and becomes thick, 6 to 8 minutes (maybe less, maybe more; just watch it!). The second it starts to bubble and thicken (note: it should be thick like pudding!), remove it from the heat. Add the white chocolate and butter and stir until everything is beautifully combined.
• Pour the pudding into the glasses on top of the crumb base. Serve warm or chill in the fridge for 2 hours. Decorate with grated semisweet chocolate.

PIONEER BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Place bread cubes in a greased 1-qt. baking dish. In a saucepan, heat milk, sugar, butter and salt over low heat just until butter melts. In a bowl, beat eggs; whisk in warm milk mixture. Stir in vanilla. Pour over bread. Place baking dish in a shallow pan of hot water. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted 1 in from the edge comes out clean. For the lemon sauce, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan. stir in water and lemon zest; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in butter, lemon juice and food coloring. Serve warm or cold with the pudding. Refrigerate leftovers.

BANANA PUDDING

Steps:

• Separate the yolks from the whites of 3 of the eggs; set aside the whites. Add the remaining whole egg to the yolks.
• In a saucepan, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar, the flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir in the whole egg and 3 yolks, and then stir in the milk. Cook uncovered, stirring often, until the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Spread a thin layer of the pudding in a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish. Arrange a layer of vanilla wafers on top of the pudding. Thinly slice the bananas crosswise, about 1/8 inch thick, and arrange a layer of banana slices over the wafers. Spread one-third of the remaining pudding over the bananas and continue layering wafers, bananas and pudding, ending with pudding.
• To make the meringue, beat the reserved egg whites with a pinch of salt until they are stiff. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and continue beating until the whites will not slide out of the mixing bowl when it is tilted.
• Spread the meringue over the pudding with a spatula, making a few decorative peaks on top, and bake until the meringue is lightly browned, 5 minutes.

CHOCOLATE PUDDING

Steps:

• For the crumb base: Throw the cookies and melted butter into a food processor and pulverize. Spoon some into the bottom of the serving glasses and set aside.
• For the pudding: Combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan. Stir or whisk together. Pour in the milk and egg yolks and whisk together. Stir over medium heat until the mixture just barely comes to a boil and becomes thick, 6 to 8 minutes (maybe less, maybe more; just watch it!). The second it starts to bubble and thicken (note: it should be thick like pudding!), remove it from the heat. Add the chocolate, butter and vanilla and stir until everything is beautifully combined.
• Pour the pudding into the glasses on top of the crumb base. Serve warm or chill in the fridge for 2 hours. Top with whipped cream!