Summer Dessert and The Bachelorette

Summer is right around the corner and so are outdoor BBQs, picnics and pool parties.

So in honor of summer, I wanted to share one of my favorite summertime, well really any time, desserts. It's chocolate pudding. No this isn't the jello type pudding, but the alternative to banana pudding with the wafers. My grandmother makes the best chocolate pies and she adapted her recipe for pies and started making a chocolate pudding. It is soo good ya'll!

As us grandchildren have gotten older and started cooking, we've asked her for recipes for some of our favorite meals/desserts. Chocolate pudding is one that I asked her for. Being the good cook/typical grandmother she is, she doesn't really measure her ingredients when she cooks. While that's great for her, it's not so great for someone like me who really has to stick to measurements. So the next time she made it she measured all the ingredients she used and wrote it down for us. 

So here's what you'll need::

For the filling::
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 heaping spoons Hershey's cocoa (*heaping spoons is the best measurement she could give)
- 2 heaping spoons flour (self-rising)
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 cups of milk
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
- 4 tbsp. butter
- 1 box of vanilla wafters

For the meringue::
- 1/2 tbsp. sugar
- 2 egg whites

Combine the sugar, Hershey's cocoa, and flour in a skillet.



Separate 2 eggs putting the yolks in a small bowl and the egg whites in a medium size mixing bowl and set aside. Add the 2 cups of milk to the egg yolks, stir, and add to the skillet.

Turn skillet to medium heat and stir continuously until desired thickness. Reduce heat once it's reached the desired thickness. Add 1 tbsp. of vanilla and the 4 tbsp. of butter. Continue stirring until it's throughly mixed.

Line bottom of baking dish with a layer of vanilla wafers.



Pour layer of chocolate over wafers and spread. Add another layer of wafters then pour more chocolate on top. (Be sure and scrap the skillet once you're done layering in your pan. It's my favorite part! The chocolate is still warm and it's sooo good.)



In the bowl with the 2 egg whites, mix on high speed until stiff peaks. Add 1/2 tbsp. sugar and continue mixing until thick. Add to the top layer of your mixture.

Broil at 500 degrees until browned (which won't take long at all).



I actually made this for our Bachelorette viewing party last night. Did anyone else watch?

I thought Ashley was annoying on last season's The Bachelor, but I'm hoping she'll win me over this season. Regardless, it's an excuse to get together with your friends each week :) I won't spoil too much in case you haven't seen it yet, but let's just say there is a drunk guy who passes out, a guy who wears a mask, a guy who my friends say was accused of murdering his wife (I don't fully believe that just yet) and a guy who has a daughter named Cozy. It's going to be an entertaining season that's for sure!



Also, this past weekend my mom and I went to an antique store in Franklin, TN called Rooster Tails. They had tons of old windows for sale for only $12 and tons of other really cool pieces of furniture. I ended up buying a shutter and window to hopefully paint and use for our deck.

The guy who owns the place also gave us tips on how they paint and distress the shutters/windows they sell and were super nice. I highly recommend them if you're looking for antique items.

Here's a picture of all the windows they have to choose from.

Soo many!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Did you do anything fun?

P.S. I'm sharing this recipe on Southern Hospitality, Home Stories A2Z and Kelly's Korner. Be sure and check out other fun summer recipes and tutorials on these blogs!

With Love,