Sweet Melissa Sunday - Melissa's Butterscotch Pudding

I just noticed that this will be my 66th post! Won't be long and I will hit 100. And, just a few short months ago, I didn't know anything about having a blog. Excuse me while I wipe away a tear. :)

Pudding. My usual experience with pudding is to open one of those boxes and pour some milk into a pan with the contents of the box, stir, heat and eat. I don't usually make pudding from scratch. The last time I made a pudding, I had to put it in the freezer so I could eat it with something other than a straw. (I went back and tried the same recipe a second time with better results). So, I was a bit nervous about trying this week's recipe, which Jennifer of Maple n' Cornbread (such a great name for a blog and such a pretty blog!) picked for us. You can find the recipe on her blog.  I thought about passing, but I did have everything on hand I needed to try it and decided to give it a go.

I halved the recipe. I happen to like butterscotch and pudding, but the hubby is a fan of neither. He's a cake/cookie/brownie kind of guy. Pudding? He would use it on top of a piece of cake or brownie in place of whipped cream, but never eat just pudding on it's own. So, knowing all of this, I figured half the recipe would be more than enough. Thought about making a quarter of the recipe, but it made my brain hurt trying to cut it in half and then cut it in half again. :D

Followed the recipe to a "T". I was a bit startled and concerned with I added the amber colored sugar to the cream mixture and it (the sugar) became this mass of solid rock in my cream! I didn't panic (too much). I just kept stirring and stirring and finally the rock melted into the cream and all was well again.

Filled the bowls I was using for the pudding, placed them in an 9x9 inch baking pan and filled the pan half way up the bowls with hot water. Covered with foil and into the oven it went.

I checked after 45 minutes and my pudding was still very liquid-y. I recovered the pan and let it cook for another 10 minutes. Checked again and it seemed more solid, but I decided to check the temperature as Melissa suggests in the recipe. I got 157 degrees and pulled the puddings from the oven. Set them on the counter, still in the pan and let them cool to room temperature. The very centers still seemed a bit jiggle-y, but I figured it would firm up in the fridge.

Well, the outer edges of each pudding firmed up, but the very center, about a 1/2 circle stayed liquid. The flavor is wonderful. It's warm, rich, not too sweet. Silky on the tongue. It's a delicious pudding and I could see making it again. What a wonderful pie filling it would make. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I am sure the problem with the still liquid center is my fault. Either I under-baked them, or didn't have the thermometer placed in the center, or who knows. I won't call this a true "Fail" because some of the pudding is, well, pudding. Had the center thickened up, it would have been perfect.

If you would like to see what the other SMS bakers (or pudding makers!) thought, please head over and check them out! Can you believe next week's recipe will the be first one in February?!?!

One last thing I would like to leave you with. We received about 9-10 inches of snow yesterday. Living in the country, we see a lot of deer and turkey in our back yard. This morning, while at the kitchen sink looking out into the yard, I spotted this small button buck foraging for something to eat. I ran, grabbed my camera and took a couple of pictures. After he wandered off, I cut up some apples and put them out there for when he returns.