Paula Deen's "Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding"

After we cleaned our lunch plates we were ready for dessert.  At our home only those who belong to the "Clean Plate Club" are eligible for dessert.  I'm happy that everyone was eligible today, since the second recipe I found on Paula Deen's website that I wanted to try was Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding.  We all love banana pudding around here.  I wasn't sure how this would taste without the use of traditional nilla wafers.  But, the purpose of this blog is to try new recipes and see what happens....

Recipe Link

Ingredients 

1 12-ounce container frozen whipped topping thawed, or equal amount sweetened whip

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

2 cup milk

1 5-ounce box instant French vanilla pudding

6-8 bananas, sliced

2 bags Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies

Directions

Line the bottom of a 13x9x2-inch dish with 1 bag of cookies and layer bananas on top.  In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well using a handheld electric mixer. Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Servings: 12 servings

Prep Time: 30 min

Difficulty: Easy

I gathered all my ingredients.  Two things are slightly different from the ingredient list.  First, I couldn't find any 12 oz. containers of whipped topping.  Do they even make that size?  I found 8 oz and 16 oz. containers.  I bought the 16 oz container and used 3/4 of it.  I also couldn't find a 5 oz box of french vanilla pudding.  I bought 2 smaller boxes instead.  Everything else is as listed.  Although I recommend 3 bags of Chessman cookies, because they are difficult not to snack on!

After I layered the cookies and bananas I started the pudding mixture.  The larger bowl has the cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk and whipped topping.  The smaller bowl is the french vanilla pudding.  I made two small packages of pudding.  I followed the package directions and measured out 3 cups of prepared pudding (which is the amount one large 5 oz box makes) and added it to the cream cheese mixture.  I realized later that I shouldn't have followed the package directions.  I should have used less milk to make the pudding slightly denser.  Oops, now I know why the mixture was a little runny.

I poured the whole mixture over the bananas and cookies.  I covered it with the other bag of cookies and let it chill overnight in the refrigerator.  It was nice and cold and ready to eat when I pulled it out today after lunch.

The Results...
I still wondered if everyone would like this banana pudding without nilla wafers.  The Chessman cookies were decorative and fun, but how would they taste?  After we all dug in, we all agreed that this was seriously the best banana pudding we've ever had!  Sorry nilla wafers, but we didn't miss you.  If only I hadn't added too much milk to the pudding.  Then, this would be complete banana pudding perfection!  Next time, and there will certainly be a next time, I will make it right!