Banana Pudding
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No one knows the origin of banana pudding, but it has been a favorite Southern dessert for decades. Banana Pudding is just something that everyone's grandmother and mother made, or makes. With its creamy filling, meringue peaks, and chewy crust, it just seems to say, "Dig in."
This is a lightened version of the old stand by.
INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Dash of salt
2-1/2 cups 1 percent low-fat milk
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups sliced ripe banana*
45 reduced-fat vanilla wafers
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugarPreheat oven to 325 degrees.
Combine flour and salt in a medium saucepan. Gradually add milks and egg yolks; stir well. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thick, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
Arrange 1 cup banana slices in bottom of a 2-quart baking dish. Spoon 1/3 of pudding mixture over banana in dish. Arrange 15 wafers on top of pudding. Repeat layers twice, arranging the last 15 wafers around edge of dish. Push wafers into pudding.
Beat egg whites at high speed of an electric mixer until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue evenly over pudding, sealing to cookies around edge of dish.
Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden.
Makes 10 servings
NOTE - Banana Pudding may be a bit soupy when you first remove it from the oven. Let it cool at least 30 minutes before serving.
*Use bananas that are ripe but firm; they will be sweeter and will have more flavor.