How About A Little Somethin' Different for Dessert?

As the weather warms, the inclination to hold a backyard barbecue or go on a picnic increases. And don't you love how these little events inspire us to experiment with different recipes? When we're invited over to a friend's house, I'll ask what I can bring. And very often the response is, "Oh, how about a little somethin' different for dessert?" Hah! I always love a good challenge.

Our neighbors grabbed the chance to throw a little backyard get-together a while ago, and I had the chance to answer the call for a different dessert. I found a recipe my Aunt Toots used to make, and I think you ought to know about it. It's a pudding made from crackers--it not only tastes great, it's a great conversation piece--who would ever think crackers could turn into pudding?

Do you have an unusual recipe we could try? Please share--we're all in this together, so let's spread the good stuff! And until next time, here's to a little somethin' different for dessert, and of course, here's to happy cook'n!


"GONE CRACKERS!" PUDDING (serves 8; this is a creamy coconut pudding topped with meringue)
2 large eggs
1/2 C sugar, divided
1/3 C cornstarch
1 quart milk (4 cups)
1 C crumbled saltine crackers (20, 2-inch squares)
1/2 C sweetened flaked coconut
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 1 1/2-quart casserole or baking dish. Separate eggs, placing whites in a medium-size bowl and yolks in a small bowl. Set aside 3 Tbsp sugar. In 2-quart saucepan, with wire whisk, combine remaining sugar and the cornstarch. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth.

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and comes to a boil--about 10 minutes. Slowly beat a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; pour yolk mixture back into saucepan and cook 1 min. longer. Stir in crackers, coconut, and vanilla; spoon into greased dish.

To make meringue, add cream of tartar to egg whites. with electric mixer on high speed, gradually beat the reserved 3 Tbsp sugar into egg-white mixture until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pudding. Bake pudding 15-18 min. or until meringue is lightly browned all over. Cool pudding to room temperature on wire rack, then refrigerate until ready to serve.