HASTY PUDDING WITH GRAHAM CRACKER CRUMBS

That's right -- pudding.  I made homemade pudding.  No box.  No Cosby.  And I managed to make it without eggs, too.  Hearkening back to the good ol' days of yore, I rustled up the pre-Jell-O kind and made it all fancy-like with some smooshed up graham crackers.  Not bad for cabinet cuisine.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 c. white sugar

1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tbsp. cornstarch

2 c. milk

11 graham crackers

DIRECTIONS:

1. Crush graham crackers by breaking into small pieces and givin' 'em a spin in a food processor.  Set aside.

2. Combine sugar, cocoa, and cornstarch.

3. Whisk in the milk, a little at a time so there are no lumps.

4. Pour into small saucepan and heat on low, stirring constantly until thickened.

5. Pour into baking dish.  Now you have two choices...

6a. Pour graham cracker crumbs over pudding.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator.  This is what I did, but it doesn't keep the grahams crispy.

6b. If you like your graham crunchy (which I recommend), cover pudding with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming and store graham cracker crumbs separately.  Top pudding with a few tablespoons of crumbs just before serving.

Bottom line: if you like dark chocolatey pudding, this is the one for you, but if you like your pudding a little sweeter, maybe try going easier on the cocoa powder.  1/3 cup is A LOT, considering many recipes call for a few tablespoons, so if I made this again I would half the amount and see what happened.  No matter what, it's pudding and it's simple.  Not as simple as pudding in a box, but it's the same consistency and with a little work on the cocoa, would probably taste just the same.  So if you don't have (read in a Cosby voice) "I luddell Julllo puddingg," then this'll do the job.

Official Grade: B

Potential with a Bit of Tweaking: A