Atlanta — Pudding has a magical quality. One spoonful of rich, creamy pudding instantly makes us feel like children again.

Remember when all of life's happiness seemed to rest solely upon the questions "chocolate or vanilla?" or "Do you want extra Nilla wafers?" Remember the splendor of scraping every last bit of pudding from the bowl? Or, if Mama wasn't looking, licking the bowl clean with your tongue? What about the delicious, slightly chewy hardened skin formed on top of the pudding cups?

Cox News Service (ENLARGE)

Virginia Willis' buttermilk pannacotta with blackberry coulis for Southern recipe preservation series.

Pudding has long been regarded as a good food for the young or infirm. (I love the concept of chocolate pudding as a health food!) And what grandmother hasn't spoiled her charges with homemade love in a bowl?

The earliest puddings were boiled in a bag or cloth. The word pudding actually comes from the word "boudin," a type of sausage, and refers to a mixture with a soft, puddinglike consistency or a sausagelike preparation made with minced meat or various other ingredients stuffed into a bag or skin and boiled.

Some puddings are even similar to a very moist cake, with a slightly spongy texture. I found one recipe for such a dish in John Egerton's classic book "Southern Food." It is called Woodford Pudding, named after an area in Kentucky, and is a wonderful combination of sweet and slightly sour that is complemented by warm spice tones of cinnamon.

Baked and chilled puddings came about even later.

Puddings are either classed as savory and served with meat, such as Yorkshire pudding — which is more similar to a bread or popover than anything we think of as pudding — or sweet and are served as a treat or as dessert. Although many in Britain and the former British Empire consider puddings as any dessert, we deem pudding as those containing flour or a cereal product such as cornstarch or tapioca, that has been boiled, steamed or baked. The creamy, rich dessert most Americans think of today as pudding is very closely related to egg-based custards such as crème anglaise and pastry cream.

Many decades before crème brûlée and panna cotta became trendy, Alden Rowland Dye was treating her family to a similar custard dessert known as "rock cream."

"The name is actually a misnomer," said Molly Dye Franklin of Atlanta, Dye's granddaughter, who fondly recalls her grandmother serving the dessert at Christmas. "There is nothing 'rocky' about this jellied crème brûlée."

Franklin said that her great-grandmother could make this heirloom recipe only in winter in the early 1900s because of its need for the cold weather to congeal.

"My great-grandmother made this delectable dessert in a cooled kitchen with the back door open, placing the mold outdoors for coagulation," Franklin said. "Once refrigeration became a given, it was easy to serve, but my grandmother honored her (mother's) past with only serving it on the coldest holidays."

Inspired by this and other delicacies we've gathered some old family recipes and re-created them so everyone can enjoy once again a little bit of that childhood magic. Maybe you will recognize an old friend.

Virginia Willis'

Bananas Foster

Banana Pudding

Instead of the traditional vanilla pudding most often used in banana pudding, chef Virginia Willis used a recipe for a much richer custard, vanilla-flavored pastry cream known in French cooking as crème pâtissiere. An additional chef-inspiration was cooking the bananas as in Bananas Foster. Makes 10 servings.

2 cups whole milk

6 eggs, separated

3/4 cup and 1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Pinch salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

45 Nilla wafers (about)

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

8 bananas, sliced

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk to a simmer. In a separate saucepan, whisk the egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar until thick and light. Stir in the flour to make a smooth paste.

Whisk the scalded milk into the egg mixture, blend well then return the pan to the heat. (Make sure the cream is perfectly smooth before letting it boil!) Whisk over gentle heat until boiling. Cook the mixture, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes. Add salt and vanilla extract and stir to combine. Strain the pastry cream into a bowl; set aside.

Place a layer of Nilla wafers on the bottom of a large baking dish. Spread half the reserved pastry cream on top of the wafers. Insert wafers into the pastry cream all along the sides of the dish; set aside.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter until foaming. Add the brown sugar and cook until melted. Add the bananas and stir to coat. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, spooning the butter mixture over the bananas.

Spoon the bananas evenly over the pastry cream in the baking dish. Top with a second layer of wafers. Spoon the remaining pastry cream over the wafers; set aside.

In a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, a little at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Spoon the meringue over the pastry cream and spread evenly to cover the entire surface, sealing well at the edges. Using a spatula, make curls and peaks in the meringue. Bake in the oven until lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove to a rack to cool slightly. Serve immediately, warm or cold.

Gan-ge's Rock Cream

"Gan-ge" was the name Atlanta resident Molly Dye Franklin called her grandmother Alden Rowland Dye — who served this wonderfully creamy, old-fashioned dessert as her mother did, in the coldest months when refrigeration was not available. Makes 8 servings.

4 cups whole milk, divided

2 ( 1/4-ounce) envelopes unflavored gelatin

6 eggs, separated (see note above)

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or sherry

Whipped cream, for garnish

Candied or maraschino cherries, for garnish

Place 1 cup of the milk in a measuring cup; sprinkle in unflavored gelatin. Let stand until gelatin softens, about 10 minutes.

Place the remaining milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until simmering. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks with 1 cup of the sugar.

Whisking constantly, slowly pour the scalded milk over egg-and-sugar mixture. Add reserved gelatin mixture. Pour the mixture into a double boiler over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the gelatin is dissolved and the mixture coats a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat.

Transfer to a medium bowl and place over a bowl of ice water. Stir constantly to cool, 5 to 7 minutes. (Do not allow the gelatin to congeal.) Set aside.

In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on low speed until frothy. Increase the speed to high and continue whipping, slowly adding the remaining 1/2 cup sugar until stiff peaks form, 3 to 5 minutes.

Pour the reserved custard over the whites, add vanilla or sherry, and fold to combine. Pour mixture into 9-inch cake pan or shallow "salad" mold.

Transfer to refrigerator and chill until set, preferably overnight.

When ready to serve, whip the cream. To unmold: Slide a knife around the outer edge and place a round serving platter or plate over the mold and turn mold upside down. Decorate with whipped cream on top and garnish with cherries. Serve immediately.

Note: To avoid a slight health risk posed by raw eggs, substitute 3/4 cup pasteurized egg whites for the separated whites.

Virginia Willis'

Buttermilk Panna Cotta With Blackberry Coulis

Although the Italian dessert panna cotta translates as "cooked cream," you actually heat the heavy cream only long enough to dissolve the sugar and the gelatin. Makes 6 servings.

2 tablespoons water

1 ( 1/4-ounce) envelope unflavored gelatin

1 cup heavy cream

8 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided

2 cups whole-fat buttermilk

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 pint blackberries, divided

1 tablespoon Chambord, optional (or water)

Pinch of salt

Put 2 tablespoons water into small bowl; sprinkle in unflavored gelatin. Let stand until gelatin softens, about 10 minutes.

Combine heavy cream and 7 tablespoons of the sugar in heavy, medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture is hot but not boiling. Remove from heat; add gelatin mixture and stir until gelatin is dissolved and mixture is smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl and place over a bowl of ice water. Stir constantly to cool, 5 to 7 minutes. (Don't let gelatin congeal.)

Stir the buttermilk and vanilla extract into the cooled cream mixture. Pour mixture into 4-cup measuring cup. Divide mixture among six 3/4-cup custard cups or ramekins. Refrigerate until panna cotta is set, at least 6 hours and up to 1 day.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, puree half the blackberries, remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and Chambord (or water) with a pinch of salt until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds; set aside until ready to serve.

Run thin sharp knife around sides of each panna cotta to loosen. One at a time, place bottom of each custard cup in 1 inch of hot water 30 to 45 seconds; immediately invert custard cup onto plate. Using both hands, firmly grasp custard cup and plate together, shaking gently and allowing panna cotta to settle onto plate. Spoon reserved coulis around the panna cotta; garnish with remaining blackberries and mint. Serve immediately.

Linda Chadwick's

Great-Grandmother Neel's Woodford Pudding With Butterscotch Dip

In Woodford County, Ky., near Lexington, cooks have been making this dish for well over a century. Linda Chadwick of Social Circle, Ga., still makes this dish, handed down by her great-grandmother. Makes 6-8 servings.

For the pudding:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, more for buttering the dish

1 cup granulated sugar

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 cup blackberry jam

For the Butterscotch Dip:

1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted

1 cup boiling water

Pinch salt

1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

To prepare the pudding: In a small bowl, sift together the flour and cinnamon; set aside. In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy. Add the slightly beaten eggs and mix well on medium speed. Dissolve the baking soda in buttermilk.

Add the reserved flour mixture, then the buttermilk mixture. Mix on medium speed to combine. Blend in the jam. Pour the batter into a buttered 7 1/2-by-12-inch baking dish. Bake until set, about 50 minutes at 325 degrees.

To prepare the Butterscotch Dip: Combine the brown sugar and flour in a medium saucepan. When well blended, add the boiling water and salt. Transfer to the stovetop and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring often, until thick, 6 or 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the butter, cream and vanilla. Stir well to combine.

Serve Woodford Pudding warm with Butterscotch Dip.