Soooooo, here’s the deal. I’m not really a fan of cool whip *Stewie Griffin voice*. So I took it out of this recipe altogether! Bye 👋🏼

Next is my issue with the bananas. They get slimy and mushy the longer the sit covered in all that pudding and just, ugh! My mom always says that if you want to get someone to eat something, “cut it up extra small or purée it! They’ll never know it’s there.” So, here we are with the idea of puréed bananas. In my opinion, it added some of the thickening aspects that the original recipe gets from the cool whip, so it satisfied me there! Then, incorporating the purée gives it a nice natural banana flavor, and the Godiva White Chocolate pudding blends with it nicely! Lastly, sitting the bananas aside while you work on everything else allows them to brown up a little, adding some final color to your pudding so it’s not so white.

Please note, that this will not be as thick as pudding but more of a custard texture! Let’s get busy… 💪🏽

Here’s the recipe:

• 2 packages Pepperidge Farm Chessmen Butter Cookies
• 6 medium bananas
• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 box (5 oz) Godiva White Chocolate Pudding mix*
• 1³/4 cups milk*

Instructions

1. Line the bottom of a 13×9 baking dish with one package of chessmen cookies.
2. Purée bananas! Set aside. 
3. In my Pyrex (best bowl ever) mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with sweetened condensed milk until smooth. 
4. Add in pudding mix and milk. Beat for several minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. I beat it just along as Michael Jackson did (lol) to build up a nice thickness. Once you see a difference in the texture, STOP!
5. Add banana purée and beat until bananas are incorporated. 
6. Crumble remaining chessman cookies (i pulsed mine in my Ninja). Top with your lovely pudding layer with crumbled chessmen cookies. Cover with plastic wrap/foil and refrigerate for 24 hours (the longer, the better).

Notes

• Pudding Mix can be substituted for any pudding flavor. I personally used Godiva White Chocolate Pudding 🤤 Herseys has a good one and obviously Jell-O! I’ve used banana varieties, white chocolate, and vanilla varieties of flavors from these brands. 
• I used whole milk, but any variety would work.
• Cookies can be substituted for any white cookie you’d like. I use Chessmen, but l may also make another adjustment here.
• Recipe adapted from Paula Deen’s Not Yo Mamas Banana Pudding Recipe

I literally did this dance once i tasted it 🤣

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