Rice and Cherries in the Snow

Your family will love these individual dessert molds of creamy, vanilla and almond-flavored rice pudding served with a sweet-tart cherry sauce.

Recipe Ingredients:

Pudding:
3 cups cooked rice
3 1/3 cups milk - divided use
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 envelope (1 tablespoon) unflavored gelatin
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 pint heavy cream, whipped

Cherry Sauce:*
1 (16-ounce) can tart pitted cherries
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 to 5 drops red food coloring

Cooking Directions:

1. For Pudding: Combine rice, 3 cups milk, sugar, salt and butter. Cook over medium heat 20 to 25 minutes, or until thick and creamy, stirring occasionally. Soften gelatin in remaining 1/3 cup milk. Stir into rice mixture. Add extracts. Remove from heat; cool. Fold whipped cream into rice mixture. Turn into large mold or 8 individual molds; chill.
2. For Cherry Sauce: Drain liquid from cherries into saucepan. Set cherries aside. Stir sugar and cornstarch into juice. Cook over low heat, stirring, until thickened. Add cherries and food coloring. Cool.
3. To serve, unmold desserts and top with Cherry Sauce.

Makes 8 servings.

*For a special occasion dessert, pour a little warmed cherry brandy over dessert and flame.

Recipe provided courtesy of the USA Rice Federation.