Butterscotch Cold-Set Pudding
Butterscotch chips, brown sugar, and Instant ClearJel set into pudding with a cup of cold water.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 3.2 oz
- cal / oz
- 163
- protein
- 6 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 5 min
- water
- 240 ml cold
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dessert
- No cook
- Cold soak
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Bikepacking
- Canoe / raft
- Day hike
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Butterscotch chips | 1/3 cup | chop or crush them at home so they hydrate |
|---|---|---|
| Instant ClearJel | 2 tbsp | not regular cornstarch, it needs heat |
| Light brown sugar | 2 tbsp | |
| Powdered whole milk | 3 tbsp | |
| Salt | a pinch | |
| Cold water | 1 cup |
Method
- Shake the dry bag hard to break up the milk powder before any water goes in. Lumps here become lumps forever.
- Add half the cold water, seal, and knead the bag until it is a smooth paste.
- Add the rest of the water and knead again. It will thicken under your hands in under a minute.
- Let it sit five minutes so the chip pieces soften, then eat it out of the bag.
The original is a baked pie: crust, egg yolks, evaporated milk, a stovetop custard, and a cream topping that all wants a refrigerator. None of that travels. Instant ClearJel does the one thing that mattered, which is set the filling, and it does it in cold water without heat or eggs. That is the whole substitution.
Crushing the chips at home is not optional. Whole chips sit in cold pudding as hard little pellets and never give up their butterscotch. Broken up, they soften into the base and carry most of the fat and calories. The brown sugar and salt push it back toward the caramel edge the baked version got from browning.
Packing
Everything dry goes in one freezer bag at home, chips crushed. One bag, one cup of water, one spoon.
Variations
- A tablespoon of cocoa powder turns it butterscotch-chocolate and hides any chip grit.
- Stir in crushed pretzels or graham crumbs at camp if gluten is not a concern.
- Double the ClearJel and use 3/4 cup water for a thicker, spoon-standing version.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/butterscotch-pie