Baked Rice Pudding

When I was a little girl, my mom would make rice pudding and it was one of my favorite treats. This weekend, when my boys went to visit her, she made it for them and I got to take a tiny taste. I asked and she scanned and emailed the recipe to me – from an old copy of the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I compared that recipe to the one in my more recent copy of the BHG cookbook, and wow, has it changed. The newer one has less milk, no butter, fewer eggs, and a more complicated assembly.

I made my mom’s recipe last night for dessert, and then had the leftovers for breakfast (what?? rice, milk, eggs – sounds like a good breakfast to me). Yummy! And full of memories.

Here’s my interpretation:

Baked Rice Pudding

Baked rice pudding

4 cups milk, divided
1/2 cup rice, uncooked
1/4 cup butter
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
Ground cinnamon or nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 325°.

Put 2 cups of the milk and the rice in a medium saucepan and brin gto a boil. Reduce the heat to very low and cook for 15 minutes or until the rice is tender (here at high altitude, that was more like 25 minutes for me). Stir in the butter until it’s melted.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix the eggs, the rest of the milk, sugar, vanilla and salt. Gradually add the milk and rice mixture.

Pour into a 2 quart casserole and bake at 325° for 30 minutes. Stir well and sprinkle the top with cinnamon or nutmeg. Bake for 15-20 minutes more, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool and serve, or chill first. Serves 6.