Banana Pudding Recipe

It will be interesting to read posts from people who post new recipes during the Covid19 home isolation/distancing period, and perhaps as the years go by I’ll have to change this intro! BUT, I have to explain how I decided to make this recipe.

Online grocery shopping can sometimes be tricky, especially if you shop at different stores (with availability being different, I hope around for the closest pick-up date). Anyway, there are differences. One store has you order bananas BY A SINGLE BANANA. So if you want 3 bananas you order 3 bananas. The next store has you order by bunches. You see where this is going.

Somehow, and I’m not saying it was me who made the mistake as the only person who does the online grocery shopping but, SOMEHOW I ended up with 3 bunches of bananas on my kitchen counter. Banana muffins and bread are both great, and freezing is an option for those, but what else could I make? As it turns out, banana pudding is super easy and well worth skipping the packaged pudding to make.

Banana Pudding

2 bananas (peeled)
3 egg yolks
⅓ cup sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups milk
1 cup crumbled chocolate chip cookies

Place the bananas, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla and milk into a blender and blitz until smooth.
Transfer mixture to a saucepan and cook over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly for about 8-10 minutes. You'll want to see it bubble and then reduce heat a bit. Ensure that your mixture is thickening up during this process. If not, you may need to add a little bit more cornstarch (like you would if making gravy).
Pour mixture into a heat safe bowl, cover and chill for at least 4 hours (best if chilled overnight).
To serve, scoop a few spoonfuls of crumbled cookies into a serving glass. Add pudding, whipped cream, and a sprinkle of crumbled cookies on top. You're done!

You can use whatever you have on hand for the crunchy base – many recipes online call for vanilla wafers which isn’t something we normally have in the pantry. Cookies are something we always have on hand so it just made sense to crumble them and use them. Enjoy!