Lake-Chilled Cookies and Cream Pudding
Instant pudding, whole milk powder, and less water than the box says. Sets firm in a bag sunk in cold water.
- calories
- 430
- weight
- 3.2 oz
- cal / oz
- 134
- protein
- 9 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 3 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 3 min
- water
- 180 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
- Canoe / raft
- Car camping
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Instant cookies-and-cream pudding mix | 1 box (about 4 oz) | split into two bags at home |
|---|---|---|
| Nido whole milk powder | enough for 1 cup milk, about 1/3 cup | whole, not the infant formula in the same aisle |
| Cold water | 3/4 cup total, split between the two bags |
Method
- At home, divide the pudding mix between two quart freezer bags and add half the milk powder to each. Seal and squeeze the air out.
- In camp, pour a scant 3/8 cup of cold water into one bag. That is deliberately less than the box calls for.
- Press the air out, seal, and work the bag with your fingers until no dry pockets remain. Thirty seconds.
- Sink the sealed bag in the lake or a cold creek, weighted with a rock, for fifteen minutes.
- Cut a corner off and squeeze it out, or eat straight from the bag with a spoon.
Instant pudding sets by hydrating starch and thickeners, not by chilling, so it works cold in a bag with no stove and no fridge. Nido whole milk powder stands in for the milk on the box. The fat matters: nonfat powders make a thin, chalky pudding, and the whole-milk version sets closer to the real thing.
The short pour is the point. Three quarters of a cup of water for a whole box, rather than the two cups the package wants, gives you something firm enough to eat out of a bag without wearing it. Fifteen minutes in cold water finishes the set and drops the temperature; in warm water it still sets, just softer. Split the box into two servings at home so you are not measuring powder on a rock.
Packing
Two sealed bags, dry mix already combined. Double-bag if the pudding is riding with anything sharp. Nothing needs a cooler.
Variations
- Any instant pudding or no-bake cheesecake mix works the same way, same water ratio.
- Vanilla pudding with crushed sandwich cookies stirred in at camp, if you would rather carry the cookies.
- A spoon of milk powder into the same bag makes it richer without changing the set.
https://www.canoetripping.net/threads/favorite-dessert.97