Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fat-free half-and-half, divided
• 1 packet unflavored gelatin
• 1/4 cup granular sugar substitute
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• Pinch of salt
• 3 tbsp bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Makes 4 (1/2-cup) Servings

1. Pour 1/2 cup of the half-and-half into a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin on top and set aside until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine sugar substitute, cocoa powder and salt in a medium saucepan; whisk in the remaining half-and-half. Bring cocoa mixture to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Remove from heat, add chocolate chips and let stand for 1 minute. Whisk until smooth.
3. Add gelatin mixture to cocoa mixture and stir until dissolved. Stir in vanilla and divide smong 4 serving cups. Cover each cup with plastic wrap and chill in the coldest part of the refrigerator until firm, about 3 hours or overnight.

WW POINTS VALUE: 3 pts.

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook. When we normally think of chocolate pudding, we think of Jell-O Instant pudding at the supermarket. Jell-o has made some good chocolate pudding but let's face it: there is nothing like cooked chocolate pudding made from scratch. There's chocolate pudding and then there's chocolate pudding. The South Beach version of chocolate pudding is creamy and heavenly indulgent it can be enjoyed anytime of the day. I recommend eating this pudding for dessert as the closing act for your day. The prep and cook times for this pudding takes about 15 minutes but the pudding does need to be chilled before serving. Pastry Chef Master Jacques Torres will love this pudding as well it's that good.