Banana Pudding Pie

Every Easter my family gets together to play games, hide eggs, catch up and eat. My family is big, really big and no one could feed the entire crowd. So, my sister Renee or my sister Patty volunteer to host and everyone brings a dish.

Most people have a signature dish:  my Aunt Gayle brings macaroni salad, my Aunt Jenny (who we lost this year) brings Aunt Jenny’s Pink Stuff, a mixture of jello, marshmallows, and nuts, and I am famous for always bringing something new.

This year I am bringing Banana Pudding Pie. Banana pudding is a Southern favorite. The basic ingredients are vanilla pudding, bananas and vanilla wafers, but everyone has a different take on it. Some people use different cookies, some people add whipped cream and some people even add coconut. I am doing a new take on my favorite dessert, no-bake cheesecake. I hope you like it.

Banana Pudding Pie

Servings:  8

Time:  Prep: 15 minutes, active time: 15 minutes, pie in 2 ½ hours

Hardware:  Measuring cups and spoons, a cutting board and knives, a food processor, a mixer, a large mixing bowl, a rubber spatula, plastic wrap, wax paper, an 8-inch springform pan and space in the fridge

 Ingredients:

• 1-5 ounce package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1-14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 2-8 ounce packages cream cheese
• 3 bananas
• Whip cream for garnish

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• 1 box vanilla wafers
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 stick of butter

1. Cut out a circle of wax paper to fit the bottom of the springform pan. Line the pan and set aside.
2. Set aside 18 of the best cookies. Place the rest of the cookies in the food processor and grind them to crumbs. Melt the butter in the mixing bowl. Mix 2 cups of the cookie crumbs, the sugar and butter together. Press the cookie mixture onto the bottom and up the sides of the springform pan. Place the pan in the fridge. Save the rest of the cookie crumbs for garnish. Wipe out the mixing bowl.
3. Place the pudding mix, sweetened condensed milk, and cream cheese into the mixing bowl. Mix on high for about 1 minute. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for another 2 minutes.
4. Stand the reserved cookies up, bottom facing in, along the edges of the springform pan as if you were building a fence.
5. Slice 2 of the bananas and line the crust with the slices.
6. Use the spatula to carefully spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the bananas.
7. Cover in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
8. To serve, carefully remove from the springform and use the wax paper to slide onto a large serving platter. Sprinkle the reserved cookie crumbs over the pie. Slice the remaining banana and top each slice of pie with a banana slice and a dollop of whipped topping.

Cherry Coconut Macaroons

I wanted to make a friend a gift of cookies for her birthday. My mom used to make coconut macaroons when we were young. So, I thought that would be good. I found a recipe for 3 ingredient macaroons, but read all the comments and everyone complained about the consistency. I talked it over with the friend who suggested I add flour. I also decided to add meringue to give the cookies shape.

Because this was a gift, I decide to make them special by adding dried cherries. You can use them or substitute any other dried fruit. I wouldn’t use raisins because this is very sweet and needs something to cut that. The cherries are slightly bitter. I think dried orange or lemon peel would work well. You could also drizzle chocolate on them afterward. I made a second batch and added ¼ cup toasted, sliced almonds and replaced ½ teaspoon of the vanilla extract with almond extract.

My friend loved them. I took a second batch to a party and people came looking for me to ask where I had found them. They were amazed that I had made them from scratch. They stay fresh and moist in an airtight container for a week. Find a pretty tin and give these macaroons as a gift.

 

 

Cherry Coconut Macaroons

Servings:  2 dozen cookies

Time:  Prep: 15 minutes, cooking: 20 minutes

Hardware:  Measuring cups and spoons, 2 mixing bowls, wooden spoon, a mixer, a baking sheet, a silpat or parchment paper, a rubber spatula, cooling rack, plastic wrap

Ingredients

• 14 ounces shredded, sweetened coconut
• 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
• ½ cup dried, chopped cherries
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup flour
• 3 large egg whites
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees°. Cover the baking sheet in the silpat or parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In one bowl, combine the coconut, sweetened condensed milk, cherries, vanilla and salt. This is best to do with the wooden spoon.
3. Separate the eggs. Save the yolks for something else. Add the cream of tartar to the whites and whip until the eggs are holding soft peaks.
4. Stir the flour into the coconut. Then gently fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.
5. I used the ⅛ cup to scoop out 2 tablespoons of mixture. Place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes or until the coconut is toasted. Allow them to cool on the sheet for about 5 minutes before moving to the cooling rack. Cover the cookie dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge between batches. Store in an airtight container.

The Best Macaroni Salad Ever!

I made this for potluck a few weeks ago. When I got home, I realized that someone had kept the leftovers. One of the people at the party texted me to ask if the recipe was on the blog. It was not. Then some friends invited us over to go swimming. Not wanting to arrive empty handed, I made more of this because I still had the ingredients on hand. I accidentally forgot the leftovers. My friend texted me that they had eaten all of it and did I have the recipe?

This has been kitchen tested by quite a few people and everyone says, “Yummy!” So, here by popular demand, is the recipe for The Best Macaroni Salad Ever!

Servings: 12- ½ cup servings (seriously, who eats that little?)

Time:  Prep: 10 minutes, Cook: 9 minutes, Chill: 2 hours

Hardware:  measuring spoons and cups, a cutting board and knives, a mixing bowl, a pot, a colander, a large storage container

Ingredients

• 8 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
• 2 cups + ½ cup olive oil based mayo
• 1½ cups + ½ cup sour cream
• 1 cup crumbled bacon pieces (you can cook 16 slices of bacon or buy the REAL bacon crumbles which are usually found with salad dressing and croutons)
• 4 eggs
• 4 green onions (½ cup)
• 1-7 ounce jar sliced pimentos, drained
• ⅓ cup dill pickle relish
• ½ cup finely chopped black olives (just buy them in a jar)
• Salt & pepper

The Best Macaroni Salad EVER!

1.   Cook the macaroni according to package directions.  Rinse in cold water and drain.
2. Boil the eggs. You can cook the eggs and the macaroni together to save time.
3. While the macaroni and eggs are cooking slice the green onions as thinly as possible. Use both the white and green parts.
4. Roughly chop the eggs.
5. Mix everything except the ½ cup of mayo and sour cream. Reserve them for later. Taste and adjust the salt.
6. Refrigerate the salad for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.
7. Mix in the reserved dressing and a few grinds of black pepper just before serving. 
8. Pasta is thirsty and will soak up most of the dressing.  The reserved stuff will ensure that your salad is creamy.

You might also enjoy Mactastic Macaroni Salad