Pudding Puzzle

I pulled out the Better Homes and Gardens Dessert Book from 1973 to try something new. Here's their Chocolate Pudding:

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp cornstarch (I used a lot more, read on)

2 cups milk

2 1-oz squares unsweetened chocolate

2 slightly beaten yolks (I used four, as first I did the whites by accident and washed the yolks down the drain)

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla

In saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; add milk and chocolate. Cook and stir over medium heat till thickened and bubbly. **OK, here's where I ran into trouble. I had to use skim milk, and I think that's why this sucker NEVER thickened. So - I just kept dumping in cornstarch until it did. I probably put in 1/4 CUP total...Cook and stir 2 minutes more. (try 20) Remove from heat.

Stir small amount of hot mixture into beaten egg yolks or egg. Return to hot mixture; cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat; add butter and vanilla. Pour into sherbets; chill. Makes 4-5 servings.

Note I added a little something to mine. Yes - it's S'mores pudding! I layered crushed graham crackers with the pudding and topped it with a marshmallow. What could be better? Somehow I ended up with about 7 servings that way.

I just read Amanda Quick's The River Knows. I love her writing and the fact that she is a former librarian. This reads like some of her first great historical romances. Her female characters are always smart and feisty, and they have a life outside of romance.

I have 25 books on my nightstand now, and a ton a mysteries in there. I decided to actually read some teen ones BEFORE my next column is due...