Easier Dulce de Leche Banana Cream Pie

I found a yummy recipe for a “Dulce de Leche Banana Cream Pie” in Taste of Home magazine and it was so good, I’m going to share it with you all – with some modifications.

See… once I made it, I realized it could be simpler than the recipe stated. Semi-homemade, if you will. (I hope Sandra Lee doesn’t have a copyright on that phrase…does she?)

First of all, I don’t make my own pie crust. Never have, probably never will. That was easy change #1. I bought a frozen crust and baked it.

Secondly, the method of making the caramel wasn’t hard, but it could be easier and involve fewer dishes, too, using a crock pot. Easy change #2. Put a can of unopened sweetened condensed milk in your crock pot, cover it with water, cook on low 8 hours. Cool, open it up and find caramel. (Nifty little trick I learned from Pinterest – and yes it definitely works.)

The other option with the caramel is to do it as the recipe originally suggests (see recipe below), but I don’t recommend letting it cool very much. If it’s too cool, it’s hard and difficult to spread on the pie, as I learned the sticky way.

Finally, homemade whipped cream is a little much for this pie. It’s already super rich and very sweet, so I think Cool Whip is a better option. Plus, it’s cheaper than a carton of whipping cream (for my budget-conscious pals out there) and – no whipping involved.

Ready for the recipe (already)? I omitted the directions for pie crust. If you make your own crust, I bet you have your own recipe anyway Smile

Dulce de Leche Banana Cream Pie

Ingredients:

Pie crust, prebaked (regular worked fine, deep dish would also work)

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

1/2 C sugar

1/3 C flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/3 C half and half (whole milk would work too)

3 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla

2 bananas, sliced

Whipped topping (homemade or otherwise)

1. Make the caramel. Place unopened can of sweetened condensed milk in a crock pot, fully submerged in water. Cook 8 hours on low. Cool for handling.

Pour condensed milk into a pie plate or shallow baking dish. Place in a larger pan and surround with 1 inch of water. Bake 1 hour at 325. Cool for handling, but not too much, as you want it relatively easy to pour or spoon on top the pie.

2. Make the filling. In a saucepan, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Whisk in half-and-half. Cook, stirring constantly, at medium heat until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat. Whisk a small amount of filling mixture into the egg yolks to temper, then return all to pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and cook 2 additional minutes. Remove from heat, add vanilla. Cool.

(The original recipe then adds to “cover surface with waxed paper and chill completely.” I couldn’t figure out what this accomplished other than getting a bunch of the filling stuck to the waxed paper and then thrown out, so I’m omitting this step.)

3. Assemble. Pour filling into a prebaked pie crust. Top with slices of banana and the caramel. Chill completely. Top with Cool Whip before serving.

4. Plop down on the couch and enjoy, like I did!