Butterscotch Pudding

(I decided no picture at all was just too severe so you're getting a shot of the Pioneer Woman's version of butterscotch pudding.) 

I am on a search for a butterscotch pudding that will fill the void of not being able to drop in at Claire's On Cedros for their creamy to perfection version of this treat. Oddly enough, I wasn't even a big fan of butterscotch until I took my first bite of Claire's pudding. Words can't begin to describe the subtle, smooth, and absolutely sublime taste of each delicious mouthful of that pudding!

Needless to say, it's going to be a little difficult to run by Solana Beach every time I get a craving for butterscotch pudding. Nothing to do but work on finding a suitable replacement for those times when the world stops spinning on its axis until my pudding craving has been satisfied.

With this blog entry, I'm submitting two different recipes and no pictures! Don't ask me why I failed to get documenting photos of either version - maybe I was still too much into unpacking, or maybe the camera hadn't been located yet (haha..made that one up! Like I would ever not have at least one camera within my immediate vicinity), or maybe the finished products just didn't look like anything I'd want to look at later????

I first made Deb's Smitten Kitchen version. It went together pretty easily and tasted fine, though I thought it leaned a bit more toward the vanilla taste, rather than butterscotch. I will admit, however, that I might not be judging Deb's pudding fairly as I had to substitute lighter brown sugar, since I didn't have any of the dark on hand when the absolute need to make pudding hit late enough one evening to negate going to the store. The consistency was just as smooth and creamy as what I'd buy at Claire's so I'm tempted to try this one again, using the recommended dark brown sugar to see if that elusive west coast butterscotch flavor can be replicated.

The Pioneer Woman version didn't have quite the same subtle depth of flavor but, rather, boldly boasted of a strong butterscotch influence. That should be a good thing, right? Where the flavor excelled, I thought the texture seemed almost more like a flan than pudding. Not that I don't like flan, just that I needed my pudding to be more richly pudding-y. If I wanted flan, I'd have looked up a recipe for it!

So, here are the two recipes. Again, both were good and, for the Smitten Kitchen one, I'll definitely do a second attempt.  Or maybe I'll just write to Claire's on Cedros and beg them for their signature recipe!

Pioneer Woman Butterscotch Pudding

Ingredients
1-1/2 cup Brown Sugar, Light Or Dark Is Fine
1/4 cup Cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon Salt
3 cups Whole Milk
4 whole Large Egg Yolks (discard Or Save Whites For Another Use)
2 Tablespoons Butter
Unsweetened Whipped Cream

Preparation Instructions
Gently whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium nonstick pan.
In a separate pitcher or bowl, whisk together the milk and egg yolks. Pour it into the pan with the brown sugar mixture and stir to combine.
Turn on the heat to medium and cook, stirring gently, until the mixture just starts to bubble up/get very thick. (This can take a good 10 minutes or so.) When it reaches pudding consistency, stir in the butter until melted, then remove it from the heat and spoon it into bowls, glasses (be careful; mixture is hot), demitasse cups, etc. Chill the pudding for at least 1 hour or until very cold.
Top with unsweetened whipped cream and serve!

Smitten Kitchen Butterscotch Pudding

Cook time: 10 minutes plus 1 to 2 hours to set in the fridge
Yield: 6 1/2-cup servings or 8 petite ones

Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
Several pinches of sea salt (I use a scant 1/2 teaspoon of flaky Maldon salt)
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 cups whole milk (you can make this pudding even more rich by swapping 1/2 cup of the milk with heavy cream)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar and reduce heat to medium-low. Let it heat and bubble for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Don’t let it smoke or burn, which brown sugar is always very eager to do. Reduce heat to low. Add salt and cornstarch, stirring until combined — it’s going to look like a thick paste. Switch to a whisk and add the milk in a thin drizzle, whisking the whole time, so that no lumps form. Once all of the milk is added, you can switch back to a spoon. Cook over low to medium-low, stirring frequently, until the mixture comes to a gentle simmer. Let it simmer for a full minute, stirring, it should clearly thicken at this stage, although it will finish thickening in the fridge. Off the heat, stir in the vanilla extract. Divide into glasses or pudding cups and let chill in fridge for 1 to 2 hours, until set.