When Ryan and I first met, I had an animal cracker obsession. I would buy those big plastic bears full of animal crackers, and each night I’d eat about 2 or 3 dozen with a JELLO chocolate pudding cup. After a few months of this nightly ritual, I stopped buying animal crackers and pudding. Like many food obsessions, this one was fleeting.
Or so I thought.
This past week, my 35th week of pregnancy, I’ve wanted animal crackers and pudding again. But now, 7 years older and wiser, I can no longer allow myself to buy the overly processed pudding packs you find in the store. Especially since I know how easy it is to make your own chocolate pudding at home. Easy and so very delicious.
Most people already have pudding ingredients in their kitchen. Milk, sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, eggs…
Chocolate pudding is easy enough to make with children, and there’s nothing more fun than dipping a wooden spoon into a pot of fresh pudding and licking it clean. Believe me…I know. But if you want to make a special dessert, these Chocolate Pudding Hand Pies are ideal (and much more sophisticated than eating pudding out of a pot). A basic pie dough is cut and pressed into standard muffin tins. After baking, you fill those cups up with your homemade pudding and you have an easy yet elegant dessert.
So besides my new obsession with chocolate pudding, how am I doing at 35 weeks?
Cravings: chocolate pudding, animal crackers, ham and cheese sandwiches, granny smith apples
Fears: How am I going to get everything done? I feel like my to-do list is a mile long and my productivity is waning. Unfortunately, I’ve also become VERY indecisive. Should I buy this nursing bra? Or that one? Should we use a Moses basket? Or a bassinet? I think the plethora of opinions and information is becoming more of a curse than a blessing.
Exercise: Margot and I are still walking about 2 miles each day. The weather has warmed up finally, so Ryan and I usually take an evening walk as well. My energy is much better in the mornings though, so I often tire out after about twenty minutes of walking at night. I’m also hoping to take a prenatal yoga class this week.
Nursery: Lucille Amelia’s nursery (and the rest of our house) needs to be cleaned and organized before our housewarming party on Saturday. Yet another to-do on my list! But her room is exactly what I hoped for…soft vintage touches paired with practical baby-gear.
Health: As I shared over the weekend, we had a scare last Thursday night. Turns out I’m allergic to shellfish. We spent our anniversary evening at the Labor and Delivery Unit. Thankfully, both baby and me are just fine now. But I won’t be eating shrimp or mussels anytime soon!
Ryan: We celebrated our anniversary (again) on Saturday night due to how poorly Thursday ended. Rioja in Denver is now my favorite restaurant in Colorado, maybe even the country, and we were treated to a four course dinner that I won’t forget anytime soon. Ryan and I are enjoying these last few weeks of being just HIM and ME. We’re going out to eat, we’re watching movies, we’re hosting parties, and we’re taking long walks. I’m very much in love with both my baby and my husband. I couldn’t feel more blessed!
Chocolate Pudding Hand Pies
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbsp cornstarch
Pinch of salt
2 cups whole milk
1 large egg
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 disc of pie dough (store-bought or homemade…enough for a single crust pie)
Whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, and boil, whisking, until pudding is thick, about 3 to 5 minutes. Pudding should easily coat the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat.
Immediately beat the egg lightly in a medium, heat-proof bowl, such as a hard plastic or ceramic mixing bowl. Very gradually add the hot chocolate mixture to the egg, whisking constantly. Whisk in the chocolate chips until they are melted and the mixture is smooth.
Pour the pudding into a large bowl. Cover pudding with cut out wax paper or plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the top of the pudding. Refrigerate, covered, until cold, at least 2 hours.
Meanwhile, make pie cups. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8 inch thickness. Use a biscuit cutter to cut out 6 circles. You’ll have some leftover dough…which you can use to make cute hearts like the ones above! Make the pie cups by pressing the circles of dough down into the muffin cups, firmly pressing with your fingers to line the cup evenly. At this point, I like to stick my pie cups in the freezer for at least 15 minutes. This helps prevent the dough from shrinking too much when placed in oven.
Bake pie cups for 15 minutes in preheated oven, or until just lightly golden. Allow to cool before removing. Pie cups must be completely cool before you fill them with pudding (this will take 30 minutes to an hour). When pudding is chilled and pie cups are cooled, fill each pie cup generously with chocolate pudding. You will have leftover pudding (is that ever a problem?) which can be stored in the refrigerator for a late-night snack.
