Arroz con Leche (rice pudding)

My dad always loved rice pudding. That, and butterscotch.

Although I am not the biggest fan of butterscotch pudding, rice pudding has become one of my favorites.

I love the creamy pudding base with little soft pieces of rice. Delicious.

Arroz con leche is probably the best way to make it too. Cinnamon sticks + sweetened condensed milk reveals a creamy, spicy flavor that takes you straight to the holidays...What more could you ask for?

For the Pudding:
(recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

1 cup long grain rice
1 large cinnamon stick
2 strips of lemon zest (use a peeler to get larger pieces)
dash of ground cloves
4 cups cold water
1 egg
3 cups milk
1 (12-ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon vanilla

1. Soak the rice, cinnamon stick, lemon zest and pinch of cloves in the 4 cups of water in a saucepan for 1 hour.
2. After soaking, bring the mixture to a boil on high heat, uncovered. When the mixture starts to boil,  lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 10-12 minutes or until most of the water has evaporated.
3. While the is cooking, beat the egg in a medium sized bowl. Add in the 3 cups of milk and stir to mix.
4. Once the rice has finished, add in the egg/milk mixture, sweetened condensed milk, salt, and vanilla.Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture thickens to your desired consistency, about 15-25 minutes. *For a thick pudding, I found 17 minutes to be perfect.
5. Take the pudding off of the heat and remove the lemon peel and cinnamon stick. Transfer to a large bowl or heat proof container and let cool, uncovered, then chill the rest of the way in the refrigerator.

The pudding does most of its thickening as it cools so don't by fooled by removing semi-liquidy pudding.

Serve the pudding with a dash of cinnamon, or I even like a dash of non-traditional pumpkin pie spice!