World's Best Rice Pudding

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup medium or short grain white rice
• 4 cups milk
• Pinch salt
• Scant 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2/3 cup dried cranberries
• Variations: 1/2 cup heavy cream or 1/2 cup dark brown sugar mixed with 2 tablespoons butter

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Heat butter in a 4 quart saucepan.
3. When frothy add rice and cook for a minute.
4. Slowly add milk, pinch salt, sugar, vanilla, cranberries and bring to under a boil.
5. Transfer to a 9 inch square baking pan and set in oven.
6. Bake uncovered for 1 1/2 hours stirring every 15 minutes.
7. Then bake undisturbed for 30 minutes.
8. Then stir in cranberries, stir and bake for another half hour (for a total of 2 1/2 hours).
9. Variations: you can to add heavy cream in the last half hour of baking.
10. Or if you want a crusty topping, reduce sugar to 1/4 cup.
11. Once out of oven, crumble brown sugar and butter over rice pudding and run the pudding under the broiler until melted and bubbly.

unsalted butter, short grain white rice, milk, salt, sugar, vanilla, cranberries, variations

Taken from www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/worlds-best-rice-pudding-recipe.html (may not work)