Banana Cream Pie from Scratch

Every now and then I get that itty bitty sinking feeling in my gut when my boy comes home from college.

As I look past his camo duffle bag full of dirty clothes and steal a glance at his face, I notice something.  His eyes.  It's his eyes.  They look aged.  Those are no longer the eyes of a high spirited young boy forever dreaming about home runs and touchdowns.

 These are the eyes of an adult.  

   And with that observation, comes the long suppressed reality of mine.

He will be leaving home soon.

How do I make that feeling temporarily go away?

By giving him memories of home to take with him when he goes.

That's where this lovely  Homemade Banana Cream Pie comes in......

This is not your typical grab -a box -of something and add some milk kinda dessert.

This pie is made with Lots of Love......and Bananas.

And just like with raising a child, this recipe for Banana Cream Pie takes a little love and patience.  

Stir, stir, stir the filling while cooking for it to turn out nice & thick. 

Homemade Banana Cream Pie

                                                                                                                                         Print Recipe

Graham Cracker Crust:

1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers

1/4 cup sugar

5 tablespoons melted butter 

(Or Use a pre-made 9" graham cracker crust)

Pie Filling:

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch 

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups 2% milk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3 Tablespoons butter

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 

2 large, firm bananas

To make crust:

Combine crushed graham crackers, sugar and melted butter.  Press into a 9" pie plate.  Refrigerate 1 hour.

To make filling:

In a large saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt and milk until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. (Make sure it's nice and thick) Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat. 

In separate bowl, lightly beat eggs; Temper eggs by stirring a small amount of hot filling into eggs;( this keeps the eggs from turning into scrambled eggs when added to the saucepan) return all to pan. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat. Gently stir in butter and vanilla.

 Press plastic wrap onto surface of custard to keep the filling from forming a layer of "skin" on the top.  Refrigerate, 30 Minutes.

Spread half of the custard into graham cracker shell.. Slice bananas; arrange over filling. Pour remaining custard over bananas. Spread with whipped cream. Refrigerate 6 hours or overnight.

Lotsa love,