| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 4 hr 45 min |
| Active: | 1 hr 15 min |
| Yield: | 8 to 10 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of fine salt
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 8 large egg yolks
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 8 large ripe bananas, cut into 1/2-inch rounds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- For the cookies: Using a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until smooth, about 2 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix until just combined, about 30 seconds. At this point if the dough feels warm, refrigerate it until chilled, about 15 minutes. When the dough feels cool to the touch, scoop out teaspoon-size balls and drop them on the prepared baking sheets. The dough should yield 4 dozen balls. Bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool.
- For the pudding: While the cookies are baking, warm 3 1/2 cups of the milk, granulated sugar and vanilla in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, salt and remaining 1/2 cup milk. Then whisk in the cornstarch. Slowly pour the milk mixture into the egg-cornstarch mixture, whisking constantly. When fully combined, add the mixture back to the saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring often, until thickened to a pudding-like consistency, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and evenly spread in a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on the pudding to prevent a skin from forming, and chill in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- While the pastry cream is chilling, combine the cream and confectioners’ sugar in the stand mixer. Whip on medium speed until thick and fluffy, 5 to 8 minutes. Fold the pudding into the whipped cream, adding 1/3 cup at a time.
- To assemble the pudding: Reserve 3 cookies for the topping. Line the 9-by-13-inch baking dish with a layer of cookies, add a layer of bananas and half the pudding mixture; repeat. You should have 2 layers. Crush the reserved cookies in a resealable bag and sprinkle on top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, 2 to 3 hours.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 10 servings |
| Calories | 628 |
| Total Fat | 26 g |
| Saturated Fat | 15 g |
| Carbohydrates | 92 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 60 g |
| Protein | 9 g |
| Cholesterol | 233 mg |
| Sodium | 123 mg |
Reviews
I made this for Father’s Day for my husband and family. It was a huge hit. I guess I won’t be buying Nilla Wafers anymore.
Absolutely delicious! I had to make changes because we can’t have dairy. I used Almond milk and coconut whipping cream to replace the milk and heavy whipping cream. It came out beautiful. I also used 2 goose egg yolks in place of 4 of the chicken yolks. I have chickens and geese. Can’t wait to make this again. It was a hit!
Great cookies! Changed up some things to make it easier for me. Substituted store-bought packaged vanilla pudding ( 365 Whole Foods organic vanilla pudding made using 2 cups of almond milk instead of whole milk). Then topped with home-made whipped cream. It is now my husbands favorite dessert!
Good. I liked making my own wafers.
However, I preferred flavor of the Paula Deen recipe.
However, I preferred flavor of the Paula Deen recipe.
I love tasted first vanilla wafers is delicious good! But, I’m don’t like pudding.. I’m sorry. I’m happy to enjoyed makes vanilla wafers than store brought cookies. Yummy!!!
Love this version of banana pudding. I especially prefer the homemade wafers to the store bought version. I will make my own wafers from now on. This is a winner. Thanks Damaris. My family loves it.
Review for vanilla pudding only: I was looking for a plain pudding recipe when I caught this show and thought it would satisfy my search. Found it mediocre, will keep looking. open to suggestions!
Delicious…the homemade vanilla wafers really set this recipe apart from the others!
I rarely make this because the vanilla wafers are so good they seem to disappear before I get the rest of the dish made. There are other banana pudding recipes I like, but there are no better vanilla wafers anywhere!
Awesome!!! The wafers smelled and tasted just like the box ones in the stores but better bcuz u know what your putting into it. This came out AMAZING! A lil labor intensive but worth it! Nothing like homemade n my family loved it!