It’s the 12th already and do you know what that means? 12 bloggers, 12 recipes, 12 ingredients or less. This month was a really fun theme… food served/cooked in mason jars. I use mason jars all of the time in my kitchen so this was really fun for me.
You know those little puddings in a cup? My kids think that they love them. They always ask for them at grandma’s house and when they have them, they never eat them. They are so yucky! And why aren’t they refrigerated?! That is just odd isn’t it? So between the fake flavors and the gloppy texture half of the contents in that magical little cup end up in the trash (sad, but true). But the appeal of eating those cute little individual puddings is always there. They are just so cute.
I started making homemade pudding cups a year or so ago and we love them. I’ll whip up a batch of pudding, stick them in the half-pint wide mouth jars with the lids and then pop them in the fridge. They make a perfect snack and are just the right amount for little people. Our favorite is to dip animal crackers in them or to add a few sprinkles. And if you are new to homemade pudding you are in for a treat. It’s really easy to make and is amazing. The texture is smooth and creamy and it’s just plain good. This recipe is for the vanilla pudding, but if chocolate is more your thing you can find my homemade chocolate pudding recipe here.
And not only is there an amazing pudding recipe today, but lots of other great looking dishes, all served in jars. You can find the links to them at the end of the post. Be sure to check them out and pin all your favorites. That chicken pot pie in a jar is so clever. My family would love that for dinner.
Homemade Vanilla Pudding Cups
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 3 1/2 cups half-and-half
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan add the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk to combine. While whisking, slowly add the half-and-half until till combined. Add the egg yolks and whisk to combine.
- Over medium-high heat bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking constantly but gently. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the pudding thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and add the butter and vanilla, stir to combine. Pour the hot pudding into six 1-cup wide-mouth mason jars, filling the jars an inch from the top. Add a flat lid and then screw on the ring to close the jars. Refrigerate until the pudding is set, about 3 hours. Eat the pudding right out of the mason jars. Add sprinkles before eating for extra smiles.
This month’s recipes:
- Lemon Raspberry Trifle Jars from Mom Endeavors
- Chicken Pot Pie In a Jar from BetsyLife
- Blackberry Crisp Recipe in Mini Jars from The Rebel Chick
- Cherry-Pineapple Dump Cake in a Jar from Home Cooking Memories
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Icebox Dessert from A Little Claireification
- Easy Peach Cobbler in a Jar from A Night Owl Blog
- No Bake Key Lime Pie In A Jar from Million Moments
- Plum Ginger Simple Syrup from Eat Your Heart Out
- Cherry Cheesecake Jars from See Vanessa Craft
- Banana Split Ice Cream Pie {in a Jar} from Around My Family Table
- Homemade Blueberry Ice Cream from Plugged In Family
Thanks so much for stopping in friends. You all are the best!
I have never made my own pudding before. This looks like such an easy recipe!
I’ve only been making homemade pudding for a few years, but once you start you just can’t go back to anything else 🙂 It’s soooo good!
What a clever idea! My kids are always asking for those pudding cups, and I bet these are so much better!
This looks so fabulous. Vanilla pudding is my favorite. I would love to make this for my family, but do not want to use something as rich as half and half (although I am sure it is wonderfully creamy). Have you tried to substitute 2% or 1% milk? Do you think I would have to up the cornstarch or maybe it would be just more of a looser pudding. Any thoughts? Thanks so much. I am new to your blog and just love exploring it! Thanks.
I make this with 2% a lot! I just do 50% more corn starch. The texture isn’t quiet as velvety but it is still delicious! Enjoy friend!
I tried this today and it turned out great! I crumbled some chewy chocolate chip cookies over the top and it was heaven in a bowl!
Woohooo! And that DOES sound like heaven in a bowl. Thanks for commenting!
The pudding tasted great, but was very runny. What did I do wrong?
Did you use the half and half or try milk? Also, if you don’t cook it long enough it’ll be runny! What do you think?
I used half and half, and I thought I cooked it for the allotted time. Will try again! Thanks Melissa. By the way, have really been enjoying the blog!
Melissa, I should have asked before. Do you have a link or location that I can find all of the previous 12’s? Some really great recipes that I would love to try, but haven’t been able to get back to them.
thanks again!
HOw long will it last in the fridge?
It will last 3 or 4 days. It starts to get watery after that for some reason.
I’m from Australia and I’ve never heard of half and half, I’m presuming this is an American product. Is it like cream? What could I substitute? I really enjoy your blog and would like to try the recipe but not sure what to use instead of half and half, please help.
Half-n-half is half milk and half cream, so use half cream and half whole milk! Done! You’ll love it! We love this pudding!
This pudding is De-lish! And my favorite part was putting them in the tiny mason jars. They are the perfect size for lunchboxes and we are trying to get away from using so much plastic. Thanks for posting!
Do we have to use liquid cornstarch or powdered cornstarch?
Does the pudding not get a film on it in the little mason jars?
The steam from the pudding seemed to keep it a bay when the lid was put on while it was still hot. It does get a little bit of a film but it wasn’t worth putting a layer of plastic in the jar in my opinion. You could totally press some plastic wrap on the top before sealing though. It’s up to you.
Just found this recipe while looking for healthy chocolate pudding recipes for my daughters’ lunchboxes. It spurred me to make it. Very excited to try it!