Rum Raisin Rice Pudding on Peach Halves

 When I was little and went to my grandparents' house for dinner, we always had a little dessert afterwards, ice cream, cookies, Jell-O, or a pudding, kind of like this one, rice or tapioca with a canned peach half on the bottom. I don't know how she made hers, but I looked through several recipes and picked out bits & pieces I liked to come up with something that would use only what we had on hand and would still feel like a fancy treat.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of milk
2 tablespoons of uncooked rice
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
canned peach halves (2 halves)
1 tablespoon raisins
1 tablespoon spiced rum
cinnamon

Instructions

1. In a saucepan, bring milk to a boil.
2. Add rice and stir well.
3. Cook covered with lid cracked for 40 minutes - 1 hour over low heat, stirring every 15 minutes or so.
4. While the rice is cooking, soak your raisins in the rum.
5. When the rice has cooked for at least 40 minutes, add the raisins & rum to the rice and cook for 5-10 minutes more.
6. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar and vanilla.
7. Let sit for 10 minutes to allow sugar to dissolve and flavors to blend.
8. Put the peach halves on the bottom of a bowl or dessert dish.
9. Spoon the pudding into dishes and sprinkle with a touch of cinnamon.

The finished puddings!

I divided them into the very same leaded crystal glasses my grandmother used to use and set them in the fridge to chill. After dinner last night, I had one. SO GOOD. And so nostalgic! But with an upgrade! Tonight I beat a little heavy cream into a topping and had the second dish. (My family doesn't like the texture, so it was all mine!)

Topped with homemade whipped cream!

Let me know if you had rice pudding on peach halves growing up and if you still make it!