Rice Pudding

An easy and elegant dessert for anyone with a gluten free diet is rice pudding! Mine is made with almond milk which makes it dairy free too. The almond milk gives it a slight mocha color. The pudding will not look as white as typical dairy rice pudding does, but the nutty taste of the almond milk is wonderful. When you are making this dessert, plan ahead. The finished rice pudding needs to chill in the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours. Delicious served with mandel bread (see my post for a gluten free recipe) or biscotti!

Ingredients:

1 cup of arborio rice

4 cups of unsweetened almond milk, plus extra if needed (You can use regular milk instead)

1/4 cup of sugar

1/4 cup of agave sweetener (You can use all sugar or all agave if you prefer)

Pinch of kosher salt

1 tsp. real vanilla extract

Whipped topping and cinnamon for serving

• Stir together the rice and almond milk in a pot on the stove. Add the sugars, salt and vanilla. Bring this to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for about 40 minutes, checking every 15 minutes and stirring the pot.

• Let it simmer, covered, until all the milk has been absorbed. The rice should taste very tender. If the rice is not soft enough and there is not enough liquid to keep cooking, add another 1/4 cup or so of milk to the pot and stir together. Let it simmer away until it is soft and the consistency is how you want it for the pudding. The rice will not magically become softer after it chills. If you don't like a slight bite or texture to your pudding, you must let it cook until it is ready.

• Transfer the hot pudding to a baking dish and cover the surface of the pudding with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator.

Note: After the rice pudding chills it often gets much thicker in consistency and you may want to add a bit more milk and stir it though before spooning it into bowls. I sometimes stir in a splash of cream or my husband's half and half that he uses for his coffee. The rich and creamy flavor stirred in at the last moment is wonderful. Add your favorite whipped topping and cinnamon. Enjoy!

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