GFCF Chocolate Avocado Pudding

I know, this sounds a little weird, but really it is yummy. I first encountered this dessert at a Maryland Biomedical Group Meeting (maryland_biomedical@yahoogroups.com) where one of the mom’s made it so that we could try yummy GFCF treats for the winter holidays. I made a GFCF Upside Down Pumpkin Pie. But recently I picked up Jessica Seinfeld’s Deceptively Delicious from the library hoping to add a little more nutrition to my children’s food. The boys love their pancakes and fruit, but often will not touch proteins such as meat and eggs, and certainly won’t eat the dreaded vegetable. So I was hoping her book might give me a few ideas for hiding nutritional foods in some of their favorite items. She has a version of Chocolate Avocado Pudding in her book, and I decided to try it out after making a few minor changes.

1/4 cup coconut oil (I use Spectrum)
1 cup of pureed avocado (about 2 Haas avocados) – I mash in a bowl with a fork then put in a food processor and get it really smooth
1 cup of confectioners sugar – if you are staying away from corn make your own confectioners sugar by grinding granulated sugar with arrow root
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder – I use Ghirardelli, but you can try Scharffen Berger or Hershey’s
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract – make sure it is GFCF, I use Frontier
1/4 cup cornstarch or arrowroot starch if you can not tolerate corn.

In a medium saucepan melt the coconut oil over low heat. Add the avocado puree, sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla. Cook until the mixture is well combined and thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the cornstarch. Use a hand mixer and beat until smooth.

And these are the results of your hard work, happy children with pudding on their faces.