puddin' pops

Vicki Jo has been loving her some popsicles lately.  We use our popsicle mold constantly, and I finally had the bright idea to buy wooden popsicle sticks so I could have more than four at a time in the freezer!  Now, I make a batch, stick in wooden sticks, and pop them out when they are frozen.  I store them in a plastic bag in the freezer, and make another batch!  There are three main varieties I make:  fruit flavors with simple syrup (look for a basil lime recipe soon . . . yum); smoothie pops with yogurt and fruit; and pudding!  I am always looking for ways to use up our weekly gallon of raw milk, and pudding is so nutritious and tasty (okay, minus the sugar . . . but still, it has egg yolks and milk!  And butter!).

So, first, obviously, you have to make pudding.  I make chocolate, but the flavor possibilities are endless.  I've toyed with different recipes, but the best one is just sugar, cornstarch, milk, egg yolks, chocolate, with some butter and vanilla added at the end.  After the pudding is done, I pour it into popsicle molds and freeze.  But you could just eat the pudding itself for dessert!

Chocolate Pudding Pops
1/4 C cornstarch
1/4 C sugar
3 C whole milk
2 egg yolks
6 oz dark chocolate, chopped
1 T butter
1 t vanilla

Whisk together cornstarch and sugar in a large saucepan.  Pour in milk and heat gently over medium-low, until the mixture bubbles.  Whisk frequently.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.  Pour in a small amount of the milk mixture to bring the eggs up to temperature.  Then pour the egg and milk mixture back into the remaining milk in the saucepan.  Bring it up to a boil, whisking constantly.  When it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, pull it off the heat.  Add in the chocolate and stir until well-combined.

Whisk in the butter and vanilla. If you suspect there might be lumps, run the mixture through a fine mesh sieve before refrigerating or freezing.

To make pudding pops, pour into popsicle molds while still warm.

To eat as pudding, pour into a bowl and cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming.  Refrigerate for several hours until chilled.