Gluten Free Vanilla Wafers and Banana Pudding

Vanilla Wafer

Banana pudding is a childhood favorite many of us look back on with fond memories.  If only those damn Nabisco Nilla wafers were gluten free.  Gone are the days of those little wafers pairing with jello pudding and bananas to bring us a sweet dessert everyone looks forward to devouring.  

Well I decided to try to formulate a copycat version of those wafers.  I’m pleased to announce I fared much better in this experiment than I did with those pumpkin muffin top cookies I made about a month ago.  

In this dessert I also made a homemade pudding although next time I think I’ll just stick with the Jello instant vanilla since it is gluten free and makes a more traditional tasting banana pudding.  The vanilla wafers are a close proximity to the original so I’ll be making them again for sure.  Oh and I just found out that Cool Whip is gluten free too.  Oh yeah, I’m definitely doing this recipe again. 

Ingredients for the Pudding:

•          4 cups milk
•          1/2 cup corn starch
•          1/4 cup sugar
•          ¼ tsp salt
•          1 tbsp vanilla extract
•          5 ripe bananas, 3 mashed and 2 sliced

Ingredients for the Vanilla Wafers:

•          3 eggs
•          1 cup dark brown sugar
•          ½ cup melted butter or 1 stick
•          1 tbsp vanilla extract
•          1 ¾ cups gluten free Bisquick

Video Tutorial: 

Instructions:

1.  For the pudding, in a medium saucepan whisk together the cornstarch, salt and sugar then stir in the milk until there are no lumps.

2.  Over a medium-low heat, bring the mixture up to a boil stirring continuously.  Continue cooking the mixture while constantly stirring until it reaches a boil then lower the heat slightly and continue cooking for 3 more minutes.  Don’t leave the pot unattended.  Make sure to cook the mixture for the full 3 minutes once it boils.  Cornstarch needs that heat to gain its full thickening strength.

3.  Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla and the 3 mashed bananas.

4.  Transfer the pudding into a large bowl.  Cover it with plastic wrap placing the wrap directly onto the pudding to prevent a skin from forming and chill the pudding for at least two hours before assembling the dessert.

5.   For the vanilla wafers preheat the oven to 350°F or 175 °C and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

6.  Whisk together the eggs and brown sugar until light and creamy.

7.  Stream in the melted butter and vanilla and continue whisking. 

8.  Switch over to a spoon and stir in the gluten free Bisquick until well combined.  The dough will have a very thick batter-like consistency. Transfer it to a smaller bowl then cover and chill for 15 minutes.

9.  Drop by level tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet being sure to leave about 1 inch between the cookies.  I used a small scooper.

10.  Wet your finger and smooth the cookie tops of any lumps or bumps.
11.  Bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.
12.  To assemble the pudding, be sure that your dish has at least an 8 cup capacity then alternate layers of vanilla wafers, sliced bananas and pudding until you’ve built a pudding that you’re happy with.  You should have about 4 layers depending on the size and shape of the dish you’ve chosen.
13.  Chill the pudding for at least 6 hours before serving.  Garnish with whipped cream if you want.

Banana Pudding with Gluten Free Vanilla Wafers

Notes:  To save work, for the pudding you can substitute 2 boxes Jello instant vanilla pudding.  They also have sugar free and fat free options that are also gluten free.  The vanilla wafer recipe made 50 cookies.  When I baked them I placed one baking sheet in the oven at a time using the middle rack.  I had 20 cookies on each sheet and 10 cookies on the last sheet.