Banana Pudding

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In my family, we call this “Nanner Puddin.” Don’t forget the Southern twang with that phrase, too. My brother and I are goofy though, since neither one of us likes chunks of banana in our pudding…so I had to get creative. I knew that just using banana flavored pudding mix wouldn’t be good enough, so some research began. Looking through several different recipes, I picked what I did and didn’t like between them, and got to work on my little experiment.

I liked the idea of the flavor of real bananas in the pudding, but not a fan of the chunks, so I improvised. My brother and I were chatting about it before I made it, and I told him that there wouldn’t be any chunks. He questioned the ability to have banana pudding with REAL bananas, but without any chunks…even little pieces. I told him that I would try…and it worked. The great thing about this recipe is that if you do want chunks of bananas in with the pudding, you can chop up a couple of extra bananas and layer them in between the pudding and Cool Whip layers. My kids put the pudding to the test (who absolutely LOVE bananas), and it passed. In fact, they wanted more, and got mad when they couldn’t have extra. The hiccups and big sighs in between bites gave it away that she was already full.

Banana Pudding

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup confectioners sugar

3 cups half and half

1 small box instant vanilla pudding mix

1 small box instant banana cream pudding mix

1 box Nilla wafers

8 oz. frozen whipped topping, thawed

sliced bananas (optional)

In a medium size mixing bowl or standing mixer, beat cream cheese, vanilla, mashed bananas, and confectioners sugar at medium speed until well-blended. If you prefer no chunks of bananas, puree them in a blender until smooth. Add pudding mixes and half and half, continue beating for one minute. Spread Nilla wafers all along the bottom of a 9×13 inch dish, pour mixture on top of cookies and spread into an even layer. Set in refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving, garnish with whipped topping.