Butterscotch Pudding

Normally, when I’m reaching for something sweet it’s a baked good. But every once in a while, I like a good homemade pudding. There’s something very rich and very satisfying about this pudding – and the butterscotch flavor is fantastic.

The whipped cream is listed as “optional” because you don’t need it as an ingredient in the pudding. But let’s be real – it’s not optional. Add the whipped cream.

Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

½ cup dark brown sugar
¼ t salt
3 T water
1 cup milk (I used 1% but really whole milk will give you the richest flavor)
3 T corn starch
3 egg yolks
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 T butter, softened to room temperature
3 t vanilla
1 ½ t bourbon or rum
Powdered sugar and additional whipping cream*

Optional, for whipped cream on top. But like I said before – it really should not be optional. And after making the pudding I am perfectly fine with you using whipped cream from a can. It’s not as good, but if you have it handy go for it.

Directions

In a medium saucepan, add the brown sugar, salt and water and heat over a medium low heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar is melted. Then, continue to cook for about 6 minutes, still stirring frequently. You don’t want it to boil so if it starts to, lower the heat.

After 6 minutes turn off the heat and let the pan sit.

In a large bowl, add the milk and cornstarch and whisk until the cornstarch is dissolved. Add in the egg yolks and whisk again until everything is well combined. Finally, add the whipping cream in and whisk again until just combined. You don’t want to whip the cream here, so just whisk enough to get a smooth mixture.

Take this mixture and add a third of it to your brown sugar pot and whisk until combined. Add in the second third, and do the same – whisk until combined. Finally, add in the last third and whisk once again until combined. Note – at some point the mixture may get too hard to whisk anymore. That’s ok, whisk in as much as you can but don’t stress about it. Just make sure all of the milk mixture is ultimately in the saucepan.

Turn the heat back on to medium low and start whisking as soon as you are able. Switch from a whisk to a spatula after a couple minutes and continue to stir, scraping the bottoms and sides so that everything gets cooked. What you want is for the brown sugar to once again have melted, and the mixture starts to get thick.

Once the mixture starts to boil take it off the heat and add the butter, vanilla and bourbon and stir until the butter is melted and everything is well combined.