Mini Butterscotch Banana Puddings

Ok. You all know how I can get into ruts? Here's a big one:

I haven't published a banana recipe since April 18, 2014. That was my Chocolate Oat Smoothies. Well, I guess technically it was my Banana Split Truffles on October 8, 2014, but I don't really count those. There's no actual banana in them! So, it's been a loooooooong time since we've talked banana.

How does that happen? I'm not sure. It's kind of like how I fell off the Asian wagon in 2015 and only posted 2 recipes. This banana-drought might be worse though, since I didn't post a single banana recipe last year. We are going to remedy that today with this quick, easy, kid-friendly, and delicious dessert!

These are so easy to make. So easy. I think they'd be perfect for when you are having last minute guests over and need to whip up a delicious dessert. Plus, there's only a few ingredients:

Bananas

Instant butterscotch pudding

Whipped cream 

Vanilla wafers

That's it! 

And really, to assemble, all you do is layer the ingredients. Not only are these kid-friendly to eat, they also might be a kid-friendly dessert to make with your wee ones.

I crushed my vanilla wafers in the food processor. I was feeling lazy. It's perfectly acceptable to put the wafers in a ziplock bag, and whack them around to crush the cookies. 

Instant pudding takes no time at all to whip up. 3-5 minutes, max.

Slice up bananas and then whip your cream! You can substitute cool whip or canned whipped cream if you choose, but I'm partial to making my own. The flavor is out of this world compared to the prepared variety. And if you have a stand mixer, it takes next to no effort. 

I stuck a half a cookie on top for decoration. I thought they looked pretty :-)

And that's pretty much it when it comes to this dessert! I made 2 puddings, but I had plenty of leftover ingredients. You could easily make 3 or even 4. Of course, you could just make the 2 puddings larger than I did, but I found these small ones to be the perfect serving size. It all depends on your preference. It's your dessert, customize at will!

I'm going to have to make this a quick post today. I'm incredibly distracted by a situation we've got going on around here. Remember that friendly neighborhood dog I was telling you about in February's wrap-up? The situation has escalated.

There are now 3 dogs. One day last month, a black and tan puppy showed up-

I'd seen him across the large field in front of our home, at a neighbors house. So one Saturday last month, the hubby loaded him up and took him back home. When he spoke to the woman who lived there, she confirmed it's their dog. She also said she used to have 2 other dogs that are now just "neighborhood" dogs. She said they couldn't get them to stay, so they weren't really her's anymore.

Harrumph. That's not really how dog ownership works. This means there's the black and tan puppy, that blonde dog I mentioned in February, and a beagle-mix that roam the neighborhood with basically no home. The black and tan puppy was leaving his house everyday to follow the other 2 as they all got skinnier and skinnier. I feel horribly for them, so I've been feeding them. I was taking the puppy home everyday, and everyday, he was returning. The last time I took him home, his owners had no water for him and a moldy sandwich in his food bucket. No wonder he comes back all the time! 

I've stopped taking him home.

As I'm sure you can guess, these dogs are here all the time now. They sleep in the yard. I'm not sure what we are going to do as we are not in the market for 3 large dogs. I know there is only 2 in the picture- the beagle-mix is terrified of people. I've petted him a couple of times but he likes to keep his distance. 

Needless to say, between having 3 large dogs in the yard and 4 small in the house (we are watching my mother-in-law's dog right now), things are chaotic around here. I have to take the small dogs outside one by one to make sure they don't try to run off the big dogs. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that? All 3 big dogs are scared witless of the chihuahuas. Mariota made the black and tan puppy pee his pants yesterday. Literally. Mariota saw the puppy in the yard and charged him. The puppy flopped over on the ground and began to pee himself. It's kind of amusing to see how much the chihuahuas run the show :-) But I feel sad for the big dogs too.

I'm at a loss right now. The puppy and the blonde dog have awesome personalities, I know they'd make great pets for someone. The problem is they are bonded to the beagle-mix, who in my opinion, I just don't know if he will ever like people. I don't know if I could even catch him. 

That's my dilemma. I'm not sure what the future holds, we shall see.

That's it for me today, have a great day everyone!

Ingredients (makes 2 small puddings with leftovers):

1 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 ounces vanilla wafers, crushed

1 box instant butterscotch pudding, prepared according to box instructions

2 bananas, sliced

halved vanilla wafers, for garnishing (optional)

Directions:

1. Prepare the whipped cream- in a stand mixer, combine cream, sugar, and vanilla. Beat for 5-7 minutes, or until cream forms stiff peaks. Set aside.

2. To assemble puddings, layer 2 tbsp crushed vanilla wafers at the bottom of a small glass. Top with a layer of pudding, 5-6 sliced bananas, and then a layer of whipped cream. Repeat layers. Top last layer of whipped cream with a half of vanilla wafer, if using. Repeat with 2nd pudding. 

3. Serve immediately!

Printable Recipe

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