One of my New Year’s resolutions is to eat pudding every day. Like my other resolutions, I’ve already slacked off, but today, I’m getting back on track…at least on the eating pudding part.

I don’t know why anyone would ever bother with pre-packaged pudding. Homemade pudding is easy, delicious, and you most likely have everything you need in your cupboard.

2 cups of milk
3/4 cup of cocoa powder
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
1 teaspoon of vanilla (or almond extract)
1/2 cup of dark chocolate bar chopped-up (or chocolate chips)
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (optional, this will make it noticeably spicy, if you only want a hint of spice, just add a pinch)

-Add the milk, cocoa powder, sugar, cayenne pepper, salt and cornstarch to pan.
-Heat over medium heat until it boils (about five minutes). Stir constantly.
-Continue to heat for another minute or two, until it starts to thicken.
-Remove from heat, stir in vanilla extract and the chocolate bar.
-Pour into four containers. Eat warm or chill. If you chill it, place either plastic wrap or wax paper directly on the surface to keep a skin from forming on it.

This version makes a rich, dark pudding. You can make it more of a milk chocolate pudding by decreasing the cocoa powder to 1/4 cup, increasing the cornstarch to 2 tablespoons and using milk chocolate instead of dark.

If you want something really special, top it with fresh whipped cream. One of my husband’s New Year’s resolutions is to eat more whipped cream…it’s going to be a great year…

Happy New Year!