Chessmen Cookies Banana Pudding

A thick and creamy banana pudding topped with hearty and buttery store-bought cookies for a lovely display.

Yesterday.  Let’s talk about yesterday.  Yesterday was one of only two days each week where I have four work hours while the kids are at a Moms Day Out.  Yesterday was the day I was supposed to use all four of those hours to get a butt-load of work done.  Yesterday was the day I needed to photograph three different recipes and write today’s post and Monday’s post.  Yesterday was the day I was going to take about 30 minutes and schedule out our itinerary for our trip to Austin this weekend.  Yesterday was the day we were going to get out our Christmas decorations.

Yesterday didn’t go as planned.

Yesterday, Simon puked on me two different times.  Yesterday, I mopped my floors twice.  Yesterday, I gave Simon three baths.  Yesterday, I held Simon all day long.

Despite it all, I didn’t have a bad day yesterday!  After Simon threw up the first time during breakfast, I prayed right away that God would guard my thoughts and mind, and give me plenty of energy and a positive attitude.  I prayed this prayer because I know myself all too well.  My normal self (my self-reliant self) would dwell on every negative outcome of yesterday and let myself grunt and grumble about not getting my check list done.  As soon as Ben arrived home from work, I would go on and on about how tired I was from taking care of a sick child and how stressed out I’ve become because I’m behind on work.  But, I didn’t!

The thing is, because I came to God with it right away, He helped me keep my thoughts on Him and cast all of my cares on Him.  I was able to remember that the more demanding my day, the more help I will receive from him.

The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace. – Psalm 29:11

Let’s celebrate getting through the day yesterday with a big scoop of this Chessmen Cookies Banana Pudding!  This is a recipe from Paula Deen’s kitchen, and it’s fabulous!  I made this the first time for church — it serves a lot of people.  It’s a thicker and creamier texture than many banana pudding recipes I’ve had, and using the Chessmen Cookies brings it to a whole new level.

Two tips:  1) In a pinch, you can use Cool Whip instead of homemade whipped cream, however, the homemade version is a lot better.  It’ll still be good — but not the best.  2) The recipe calls for two bags of Chessmen Cookies.  Open both bags before you start layering. You want the top layer of cookies to look perfect, but many of the cookies are already crushed or cracked when you open the bag.   If you open both bags, then you can pick the cracked cookies out from both packages for the hidden bottom layer, leaving the good cookies for the top.

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Chessmen Cookies Banana Pudding

A thick and creamy banana pudding topped with hearty and buttery cookies.

Servings: 12 servings

Ingredients

• 2 bags (7.25 oz. each) Pepperidge Farm Chessmen Cookies
• 6 to 8 banana , cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
• 2 cups cold heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 1 package (5 oz.) instant French vanilla pudding
• 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature

Instructions

1. Open both bags of Chessmen cookies. Using up any broken cookies first, line the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. You should use up about one bag's worth. Layer the bananas over top.
2. Next, make the whipped cream: In a large mixing bowl, whip the cream and sugar on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to over-beat; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, beat together the milk and pudding mix with an electric mixer until combined and smooth. In a separate bowl, beat the condensed milk and cream cheese together until creamy. Using a rubber spatula, fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Add the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Scrape into the baking dish and spread evenly over the bananas. Top with the remaining cookies. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours.
4. Recipe Source: Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible

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