Deconstructed Banana Cream Pie - 2 recipes in 1

I LOVE Banana Cream Pie. It's such a comfort food for me, a giant culinary hug. It says: I love you, welcome, I'm glad to see you, let me make you feel better. It's a southern thing I think and speaks to the honorary half southerner in me. So why would I want to deconstruct such a beloved dessert? Well, I can hardly stop myself of thinking of ways to make something, anything, better or different. I love this little Wa;nut Cream Cheese Butter cookie and I thought, wouldn't it be great if you could make a batch of cookies, enjoy them as they are and also use them for the base of a dessert? Yes, is the answer! And walnuts and bananas are best friends. So you can make a batch of these divine little cookies, enjoy half or give as a gift (they pack up nicely stacked in parchment paper or small candy box) and use the other half to make the Banana Cream Pie. I have deconstructed the pie because I think it looks prettier in individual serving glasses. You can see each layer and play around with them a bit - double up on the cookie layer if you like, add two layers of sliced bananas. But you certainly can use them to make a 9" pie. Just crush them as you would for a graham cracker crust and press into the bottom of the pie plate.

The other great thing about these cookies is you can make the batter ahead and keep it in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. I usually mix up my dough the day before I bake them. While they're baking I make the Banana Custard. While the cookies are cooling, the custard chills in the fridge and they both wait on me to asseble them into a pretty little dessert. If you're having guests for dinner, choose this dessert. You can make all of this a day or two in advance and send cookies home with your guests! I hope you love this as much as I do. And please feel free to use other nuts like pistacios, almonds or macadamias. Make it your own. Enjoy!

Walnut Cream Cheese Butter Cookies

4 cups flour

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher or sea salt

4 sticks (2 cups) unsalted butter at room temperature

6 ozs cream cheese or neufchatel at room temperature

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla

1 cup walnuts, finely chopped (or nuts of your choice - get creative!)

1 cup walnuts, roasted and finely chopped, optional

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add butter and cream cheese and mix on medium until blended and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and vanilla and blend until incorporated. Reduce speed to stir and add flour a cup at a time with the salt. Mix until just blended. Do not overix. Mix in the 1 cup of toasted nuts if using.

Spread a long sheet of plastic wrap on your work surface and place half the dough in a log shape on the plastic. Using the long sides to further shape the log, wrap the log and roll with your hands to continue shaping. Once shaped, fold short ends of plastic over the log. Roll log in parchement paper to provide stability. Repeat with other half of dough. Place in zip lock bag or freezer proof container and freeze for 30 minutes at minimum. The dough can remain in freezer for up to 2 weeks.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Working with one log at a time, remove dough from freezer and unwrap. Roll log in 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts and slice in 1/4ish inch slices. Place cut side down on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating half way through, until the edges are browned and center is light brown.

Banana Custard Filling

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 2/3 cup water

1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

3 egg yolks

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 very ripe bananas, 1 will be mashed and 1 sliced - but must be done at the last minute to prevent browning, do not mash or slice ahead of time

whipped cream - 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar or sugar amount to taste

shredded sweetened coconut to taste, optional

In a saucepan dissolve the cornstarch in water with a whisk, add in sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks and whisk to combine. Cook over medium heat whisking constantly but gently until mixture gets thick and starts to bubble. Remove from heat immediately and stir in vanilla, butter (coconut if using) and mashed banana. Allow to sit for 5 minutes then transfer to a bowl and press in a piece of saran wrap to prevent skin from forming. Allow to cool further. When just slightly warm, put in refrigerator until completely chilled - about 2 hours.

Assembly

Use a clear glass dessert dish (or martini glass, ball jar, stemless wine glass). Depending on height, you will either repeat layers or just use one layer of each component. Use slightly crushed (I like medium sized chunks) butter cookie as the base layer, add custard, a slice or two of banana and whipped cream to top. Garnish with a halved banana slice, coconut and a dusting of finely chopped nuts - whatever you like. Enjoy!