Southern Tiramisu

It seems that between the bout of sickness in my house and all this snow, I am in need of comfort food. Banana pudding is one of those things my Dad always made us for dessert. In my home growing up; Mom was the cook and Dad was the baker. You would often find him whipping this up at seven in the evening and us awaiting impatiently for it to be finished. Seldomly, would we wait until it was properly cool and set. Most times, we would dig right in to the warm, gloppy mess, with the Cool Whip melting into a bubbly, watery, messy slime.

These days, I force myself to wait. I am an adult after all, or at least that is what I tell myself. I know most people frown upon Cool Whip; however, it just isn't the same with fresh whipped cream. Childhood memories seem to cast a spell over forever imprinting your tastebuds, no matter your age or dietary concerns.


I remember once hearing this referred to as Southern Tiramisu, which I believe, is properly fitting. I made this for a baby shower a few weeks ago in which someone told me it reminded her of her Mama's. It seems every southern home as some sort of variation on banana pudding. This is mine.

Banana Pudding

1 1/2 cans evaporated milk
1 large sized box Cook and Serve vanilla pudding
1 box Nilla wafers
4 bananas
Cool Whip

Cook pudding according to directions on package, using evaporated milk instead of regular milk.

In 2 qt. oval dish, cover bottom with a layer of Nilla wafers. Slice two bananas over wafers into another layer, covering. Pour half of the pudding over top. Repeat layers. Place in refrigerator to cool and set. Once cool, spread a layer of Cool Whip over top. Take a few extra cookies and crumble over top.