Milwaukee Kitchen: Best Banana Pudding

Monday, October 29, 2012

Best Banana Pudding

I hope all of my East Coast friends are staying safe with Sandy bearing down.

I had a great weekend; I actually went on a solo getaway to bustling Whitewater, Wisconsin. I stayed in a lovely bed & breakfast called the Hamilton House. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend it, as well as nearby Staller Winery.

Before I left, I made this tremendous banana pudding. Bill hosted his sister for their annual Halloween scary movie night; this was a yummy treat for them while I was gone.

I would love to say I made this recipe up myself, but this is actually a tried and true Paul Dean recipe. This takes very little time to make and who doesn't have a few bananas hanging around? Give it a try!

Best Banana Pudding
from Paula Dean

2 bags Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies (I could only find Christmas ones?!?)
6 bananas, sliced
2 c milk (I used skim, which worked fine)
1 box instant vanilla pudding
1 (8-ounce) package of cream cheese, softened
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12-ounce) container of frozen whipped topping or sweetened whipped cream.

Using the cookies from one bag, line the bottom of a 13 by 9 inch baking dish. Layer the bananas on top.

In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix. Whisk until well combined and smooth. In a second bowl, combined the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk together until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Then add this mixture to the pudding mixture. Pour over the cookies and bananas. Cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate.

I prefer to make this the night before I intend to serve it, as then the cookies have softened and absorbed the filling.