Leonard’s Banana Pudding

by
Kasey Lansdale

Ain’t a soul alive don’t know that vanilla cookies is Leon ard’s favorite. I’ve seen him throw hands over someone just looking at his cookies. I can’t say as I blame him; they are pretty great. No matter how broke we may be, he’s always got to get the brand-name vanilla wafers. Leonard’s funny about that. They taste the same to me, but he swears up and down there’s a difference, and who am I to come between a man and his cookies? So with all this in mind, it’s no wonder Leonard’s favorite dessert is banana pudding. If we poured Dr Pepper on top we might just uncovering his holy grail. Though I don’t recommend you pour anything on top of the banana pudding other than caramel sauce. That’s a little decadent if you ask me, but so long as it ain’t a soft drink I guess that’s okay. One
great thing about banana pudding is it doesn’t take long to make. So, if it turns out you got kin dropping by in an hour, no need to panic, and you likely already have every thing you need.

4 tbsp all purpose flour
11⁄2 cups sugar
Pinch of salt
3 egg yolks (You can save these egg whites to put towards the Meringue.)
3 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Box of Nilla Wafers (from anywhere but Leonard’s pantry)
6 bananas

Fire up the stove to 325 degrees and let it heat up. Grab you a saucepan with some weight behind it, and put in the flour, sugar, and salt. In a different bowl, beat three egg yolks like they owe you money, and add the milk to the same bowl with the eggs. Pour that mixture into the saucepan and then cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, like it’s your full-time job, until everything is smooth as a baby’s bottom. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the vanilla. Once that pudding mixture has cooled, arrange some of the vanilla wafers on the bottom of a glass dish. Slice up your bananas, and place some of them on top of the wafers. Then pour about 1/3 of the pudding over the layers and repeat, ending with the cookies on top. If you want to add meringue, then by all means. Who am I to stop you?