Potted Mint-Chocolate Puddings

A few months ago on Valentine's day my boyfriend was out of town and I had the house to myself. Instead of feeling lonely or bored, I went to Target and bought myself some chocolate and magazines. It was awesome. One of the magazines I purchased was the March issue of Martha Stewart Living, mostly because it looked like a particularly gorgeous and inspiring issue.  

That's when I flipped the page and saw these little potted chocolate puddings. What a fabulous idea. One of my favorite desserts as a kid was "mud" pudding, chocolate pudding covered in ground cookie "dirt" crumbs and crawling with gummy worms. This is like a modern, slightly gourmet version of that pudding, even adults can enjoy it. And although I don't have any gummy worms on hand, I would suggest adding at least one to the mix. For old time's sake. 

 Recipe Rundown
Taste: The perfect combination of chocolate and mint. Heavenly.
Texture: Luscious and thick and smooth and creamy and crunchy.     
Ease: Fairly easy, especially if you've made homemade pudding before. If you haven't, what are you waiting for?! 
Appearance: Aren't these the cutest things you've ever seen?? 
Pros: Super cute, perfect for spring holidays, picnics, parties.
Cons: None.
Would I make this again? Yes.

Potted Mint-Chocolate Puddings

From Martha Stewart Living March 2011

Serves 8

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• Salt
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (1 cup)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure mint extract
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 10 chocolate wafer cookies
• Garnish: mint sprigs

1. Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan. Combine cream, milk, and vanilla in a liquid measuring cup.
   
2. Pour 1 cup cream mixture into sugar mixture, and whisk until cornstarch is dissolved. Add remaining cream mixture, and whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, and cook until thick, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and add chocolate. Whisk until chocolate melts, about 1 minute.
   
3. Remove from heat. Add mint extract and butter, and whisk until butter melts. Quickly divide pudding, whisking as you work to prevent sides from setting up, among eight 4-ounce glasses or glass flowerpot votive candle holders (candle4less.com), leaving about 1/2 inch of space at the top of each. Refrigerate until set, about 1 1/2 hours.
   
4. Just before serving, pulse cookies in a food processor until finely ground. Top each pudding with 1 tablespoon ground-cookie "dirt," and garnish with a planted mint sprig. Serve chilled.