12/11/2006

Recipe of the Week

Reese's Pieces Microwave Chocolate Pudding

Shirley Boutwell of Traverse City sent today's featured recipe. Her grandkids love it so much that she had to make it three times in one week when they were visiting.

"I formulated this recipe for our family because we all love pudding, but I dislike standing over the stove for 20 minutes, stirring to avoid burning,” Shirley writes. "I also wanted to beef it up nutritionally.”

Shirley and husband Lynn moved to Traverse City nine years ago to purchase and run a bed and breakfast. After running it for almost six years, they sold it to their daughter's family and built a retirement home between the old B&B and their son's home. They now hope to devote more time to travel.

Reese's Pieces Microwave Chocolate Pudding

• 1&1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 1/2 c. flour
• 1/4 c. cocoa powder
• 1 t. salt
• 2 c. powdered nonfat milk
• Hot tap water
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1/4 c. butter
• 5 heaping t. good peanut butter
• 1 handful of good chocolate chips

In a large three-quart microwave-safe bowl, combine and whisk until smoothly blended: sugar, flour, cocoa powder, salt and powdered milk. Whisk in one c. hot tap water until lumps are smoothed out. Whisk in three more cups hot tap water. Cook five minutes in microwave on high. Remove from microwave and whisk. Cook five more minutes on high. Remove and whisk. Whisk in up to two more cups of hot tap water, according to how thick you like your pudding. Cook five more minutes on high. Remove and stir in vanilla and butter. Whisk. Drop teaspoons of peanut butter and a handful of chocolate chips over top of pudding and very slowly and gently stir in melting peanut butter and chocolate to create swirls of "Reese's pieces” throughout. Cover pudding with plastic wrap, so that it touches top of pudding to prevent skin forming, and chill to temperature you like your pudding served. Shirley and her family like it warm, topped with Cool Whip. Makes 12 four-ounce servings.

Enjoy cooking? How would you like a new apron? We'll send a Record-Eagle "We've got you covered” apron to readers whose recipes are printed here as a Recipe of the Week. If you have a recipe that friends and relatives rave over and ask for, please send it, along with your name, mailing address, phone number and some details on you, where you got the recipe and the reactions it gets to: Recipe of the Week, Record-Eagle, P.O. Box 632, Traverse City, MI 49685; fax (231) 946-8632; email kgibbons@record-eagle.com. Please make sure recipes include information on the number of servings they make, along with specific sizes on cans and jars of ingredients. To print out or email this recipe from the Record-Eagle Web site, visit www.record-eagle.com.