PINNING FOR PERFECTION

I fully admit that this is not the first time I have written about a banana recipe I’ve tried from Pinterest. I’m pretty sure there was a banana bar or two, maybe a banana poke cake in there somewhere.

The funny thing is I really don’t like bananas on their own. I never have a moment where I thought, “Man, I could really go for a banana.” Or, “I’d be so much more refreshed if I could just get a banana.”

These things never ever cross my mind. A beer, yes. A banana, no.

Banana desserts, however; are another story, because I have a crazy dessert addiction. I was reading a story online about a woman who made a banana pudding that made a grown man cry. Of course, I couldn’t resist such a challenge. Making people cry over food would be a Pinterest win to end them all. Gauntlet thrown. Challenge accepted.

I decided to try two different recipes for the sake of science. The aforementioned recipe comes from Magnolia Bakery in New York City. If you ever watched “Sex and the City” back in the day, it was mentioned multiple times. They are famous for their cupcakes, but according to the article I read, the real star of the show is this crazy pudding.

I found a pin with the recipe and went forward in my quest for happy tears. This is – no lie – one of the easiest things I’ve ever made. It takes two small packages of vanilla instant pudding, a can of condensed milk, some water, whipping cream, Nilla Wafers and, of course, bananas. You combine the pudding, milk and water together and refrigerate for a minimum of four hours. After the refrigeration, whip three cups of cream and gently fold into the pudding. In a trifle dish, make a layer with the super fluffy pudding, top it with sliced bananas and the wafers, repeating till you top out. Then refrigerate for at least another 30 minutes before you serve. I gave some to my dad and my mother in law – neither of them cried, but both called to say it was delicious. It was good, but super rich, even for my expert sweet tooth.

Up until this point, my favorite pudding ever was my friend Danna’s banana pudding, and she uses Paula Deen’s appropriately titled recipe, “Not Yo Mama’s Banana Pudding.” Every time it’s her turn to host our bunco group, I make sure to request this delicious mess (last time she even made extra for me to secretly take home). For the sake of comparison, I made it myself for the first time.

WARNING: At this point, I feel like I need to put up a red flag of obviousness for y’all. If you are trying to lose weight at all, I don’t recommend trying these kind of experiments at home. They can be very dangerous to your waistline and if you step on the scale. I am willing to take one for the team for the sake of science and journalism and all of that, but don’t say I didn’t warn you if you head down this sweet, delicious road.

The Paula Deen recipe is so divine. It’s the vanilla pudding, milk, condensed milk, cream cheese, whipped topping and bananas. As if that weren’t enough, instead of Nilla Wafers, this calls for Chessman cookies – thick, rich and delicious. There’s something really amazing about the thicker cookies in this recipe as well. It’s heartier than the wafers in the Magnolia recipe and creates a next level of texture that really just sets it off.

Here’s something that I thought was obvious but was very wrong. I kind of assumed banana pudding was made with, well, instant banana pudding. I realize now that with banana pudding in the mix instead of vanilla it would be way too banana-y. Thanks again, Pinterest, for the education.

You’re not going to be disappointed in either of these recipes; both are delicious – and I mean crazy delicious. Truth is: My friend Danna was right – the Paula Deen is tastier to me. I wouldn’t pass up on a helping of either of them, but if they were side by side, Paula’s would take the cake.

Mandy Byrd is a teacher at Airline High School and a business owner originally from Colorado.

She is mother to Gracie and wife to her handsome devil-of-a-man, Eric.

Send Pinterest ideas and comments to Mandy at mandybyrd@icloud.com.