Chocolate Pudding

My husband loves chocolate pudding.  Before we got married and even for a while after we were married, he was happy with the instant kind - add some milk, shake it up, and you've got pudding in a few minutes.  In recent years he's decide that he must have the cookin' kind.  He especially likes the 'scum' that forms on top.  I usually buy the large boxes of Jell-O  chocolate pudding at Walmart for $1, but the last several times I've been there, the spot on the shelf has been empty, and last night they had removed the price tag and spread the small boxes into that spot as well.  Maybe they're not going to carry it any more?  I can't bring myself to buy the small box for 84¢ when I know I could get the large one for $1.

So today I decided to follow the pudding recipe in my cookbook.  It was fairly simple - sugar, cornstarch, cocoa and milk - cook and stir until thickened pretty much like the Jell-O.  But then it has you add egg yolks and cook and stir again, and then add butter and vanilla.  It got me to wondering why I really needed the egg yolks and that extra cooking, so I went looking on the Internet for chocolate pudding recipes without eggs and found this one:

Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 3/4 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons margarine or butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
 
In a saucepan, stir together sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt. Place over medium heat, and stir in milk. Bring to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat, and stir in margarine and vanilla. Let cool briefly, and serve warm, or chill in refrigerator until serving.

Source: allrecipes

Jeffrey said the pudding I made tasted good, but I'm thinking that I will try this recipe tomorrow.  Then we can compare the two and see which one is better - and then decide if the extra work is really necessary.

And now I have to find a recipe for the egg whites...

Update:  We tried both recipes side by side and decided we liked the way this one tastes better.  So, it's easier and it's better.  This is now my go-to chocolate pudding recipe.  I have it written on a Post-it note inside my kitchen cabinet - the cabinet that contains the cocoa, cornstarch, salt and vanilla.  And no more egg whites to worry about.