Avocado Chocolate Pudding

My mom bought me a blender for my birthday! Whooo!  I have a food processor, but blenders are great when you want a smooth, silky puree.  I broke in my blender with a delicious strawberry/blueberry smoothie, then I tried a new recipe: "healthy" chocolate pudding.  I found this recipe, like, a million years ago, but never tried it because it didn't have a blender.  It has been hiding in among the rest of my loose leaf recipes, until I dragged them all out yesterday in order to find cooking inspiration.  Between my craving for chocolate and my desire to use my new blender for everything, it was time to try out this chocolate pudding.

Now, I was almost thought that this recipe was a failure.  The avocado that I picked out was very dark green and slightly soft...indicating that it was perfectly ripe.  After I blended the ingredients to the perfect velvety texture, I tasted it...and it was a little grassy.  The avocado taste was overwhelming and slightly unpleasant.  But I patiently packed it up and put it in the fridge to cool.  After dinner, my husband had a major sweet tooth, and pulled out the chilled pudding cups.  And....it was delicious!  I realized that I had tasted the pudding when it was still slightly warm which enhanced the vegetable-ly taste.  Chilling dampens flavors, and after the pudding cooled, the avocado taste in the pudding was nearly hidden.

If you get a sweet, creamy avocado, this probably won't be as big of an issue, but I recommend chilling this pudding for at least an hour.  Not only will it improve the taste, but it will also set up beautifully.  Mine had the texture of great panna cotta with the sweet crunch of vanilla cookie crumbs.  Yum!

The other great thing about this pudding is it is super, super easy to make, and it's healthy.  Avocado and coconut milk contain very healthy fats!  And there is only a small amount of sugar from the chocolate chips. Plus, if you use dark chocolate, you're ingesting some yummy antioxidants!  

Avocado Chocolate Pudding

makes about 2 cups

1 ripe avocado

1 cup chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet, but would have preferred dark chocolate.  Use whatever you like!)

1/4-1/2 cup whole coconut milk (more or less to make the pudding come together)

Optional, though highly recommended:

1 cup cookie crumbs for topping (I used Newman's Own vanilla cookies)

1. In a double boiler (Place a sauce pot with a little bit of water in the bottom on high heat.  Put a stainless steel or glass bowl on top, then ingredients in then bowl.  The steam will melt the chocolate).  Add chocolate and a small amount (about 1/4 cup) of coconut milk into the bowl.  Heat until melted and well blended.  Add more coconut milk if needed to make it smooth.

2. While the chocolate is melting, add about 1 cup or more vanilla cookies (or whatever cookies you like) into a blender or food processor and blend into fine crumbs.  Pour into another container and set aside.

3. In a blender, add avocado flesh and chocolate mixture.  Puree on high until smooth and velvety.  Add more coconut milk as needed.

4. Pour pudding into cups (I used small plastic containers with lids).  Top with cookie crumbs.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  Eat and enjoy! (should keep 3-5 days in the fridge)

ENJOY!! :)