baked pumpkin pudding

Yes, I know pumpkin is soooo last fall. But when you have a can of pumpkin puree just staring you in the face every time you open your cabinet, you'd be craving a good ol' pumpkin recipe too. So there.

Now that I've gotten that excuse out of the way, let's see what this baked pumpkin pudding is all about:

Baked Pumpkin Pudding (adapted from Better Homes and Gardens)
Serves 4


Nonstick cooking spray
1cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon butter, softened
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
Lightly coat four 6-ounce ramekins or custard cups with cooking spray. 
Place ramekins in a 2-quart square baking dish; set aside. 
In a medium bowl stir together pumpkin, milk, brown sugar, egg whites and pumpkin pie spice. 
Divide pumpkin mixture among ramekins.
Place baking dish on oven rack. 
Pour boiling water into the baking dish around ramekins to a depth of 1 inch. 
Bake, uncovered, for 40-45 mins or until a knife inserted near the center of each pudding comes out clean. 
Carefully remove ramekins from water. 
Cool on a wire rack at least 15 minutes before serving.
Garnish with extra brown sugar or cinnamon.

Good stuff, good stuff. Then again, I'm a big fan of pumpkiny desserts. Especially in the lovely form that is creaminess. Lately, I've been bookmarking pudding recipes like mad (Chocolate! Caramel! Vanilla! Butterscotch!). So naturally, pumpkin pudding was an immediate response to my pumpkin surplus.

Although, I will make this note: the consistency leaned more towards pie than pudding. I'm not complaining though. But it should probably be called pumpkin pie in a cup (sans crust).

Oh...and you know what makes pumpkin pudding even better? Nutella (a last-minute addition).

But then again, Nutella makes everything better, right?

-jillian m.