Six-star Banana Cream Pie

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

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

Recipe

• 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!