Six-Star Banana Cream Pie

Great for if you already have stale peanut butter cookies to get rid of (or you can follow this recipe to make your own). Also if you don't have the time to do the homemade crust you can crush up Nutter Butter cookies, just making sure to remove the inside icing. I got this idea from a restaurant that served something similar. The combination of banana cream filling, peanut butter cookies, and caramel is out of this world! This is good as a cool dessert on a hot summer day.

• Ready In: 1 hr 30 mins
• Serves: 6-8
• Yields: 1 pie

Ingredients

• Peanut butter crust

• 1⁄3 cup Crisco shortening
• 2⁄3 cup granulated sugar
• 3  tablespoons peanut butter
• 1  egg, beaten
• 1⁄2 cup  ground oats (may substitute graham cracker crumbs but oats are better)
• 1  cup flour
• 2  tablespoons butter

• Pie filling

• 1⁄2 cup cornstarch (heaping measurement)
• 1 1⁄4 cups granulated sugar
• 1  pinch salt
• 4  cups  cold milk
• 4  eggs, beaten
• 1  tablespoon butter
• 1  tablespoon vanilla
• 2 -3  bananas
•  Cool Whip, as needed

• Caramel drizzle

• 1⁄4 cup granulated sugar
• 1  tablespoon water
• 3  tablespoons  whipping cream

Directions

1. PEANUT BUTTER CRUST:
2. Beat shortening with sugar in a small bowl. Measure 1/8 cup of the beaten egg; you may discard the rest.
3. Add in peanut butter and blend together with an electric hand mixer.
4. Add the oats. (You may grind them in a food processor. These help to make the crust crunchier and less soggy.).
5. Preheat oven to 325 degrees before dropping onto a cookie sheet.
6. Make small balls and flatten each drop with the back of a metal spoon.
7. Bake for 12 minutes and remove to an oven-safe wire cooling rack. Turn off the oven. Return the cookies (on the cooling rack) to the oven for an additional 5 minutes.
8. Put baked cookies into a food processor and grind down to coarse crumbs. Melt butter in microwave. Mix with the crumbs in a small bowl.
9. Using your fingers, press the mixture into the bottom of a 9 or 10 inch pie plate.
10. PIE FILLING:
11. Mix first three ingredients (corn starch, sugar, salt) in a large bowl.
12. Measure milk into a medium to large saucepan, and dissolve the dry mixture in it. Make sure NO lumps are left.
13. Turn on burner to medium heat and stir continuously. When bubbles begin to burst at the surface and mixture has thickened, stop cooking.
14. Add in butter and vanilla, stirring well.
15. Transfer half the mixture back to your mixing bowl. Combine with eggs and stir vigorously. Transfer this back to the saucepan with the rest of the pudding and combine.
16. Heat on medium to return the mixture to bubbling.
17. Slice bananas and layer half over the pie crust. Add half the pudding mixture, then the rest of the banana slices, then the rest of the pudding mixture.
18. Let cool. After about an hour, transfer to refrigerator.
19. Once the pie filling has set, top with Cool Whip.
20. CARAMEL DRIZZLE:
21. Combine sugar and water in a very small saucepan.
22. Heat on high to boiling.
23. Keep the solution boiling the entire time and stir. When the mixture has become medium to dark brown, add the whipping cream.
24. Stir. Heat on high again to let the mixture become uniform. Let boil for at least 2 minutes.
25. Put in a plastic bag and seal. Snip the corner to create a small opening (about the size of the tip of a grain of rice).
26. Drizzle caramel over the Cool Whip atop your pie.
27. Enjoy!