We had a wonderful Fourth of July! I got up at 6:30 in the morning to start prepping and making the dishes we would smoke, bake, cook, and eat. Our menu was varied and eclectic – just like our family! Smoked ribs, Boudin-Stuffed Mushrooms, Crabmeat-Stuffed Smoked Jalapenos, Beefy Baked Beans, smoked sausage, and this wonderful, beautiful dessert.
My grandmother made a version of this dessert when I was growing up. It was one of the many things that I loved about eating Thanksgiving lunch at her house. Sometimes she made hers in regular pie crusts that she baked first. Sometimes she made it in graham cracker crusts. Sometime she made it in a casserole dish, which is how I made mine.
When I first started working on this dessert, I asked my mom if she still had Nanny’s recipe. Of course, she did! She sent me a copy of the recipe and I was happy to see that a lot of mine stayed true to her original.
Blueberry Banana Daydream
Crust:
- 1 1/2 sticks of salted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup of brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 cup of chopped pecans
- 1 1/2 cups of flour
- 4-6 bananas, sliced into half-inch slices
Filling:
- 2 packages of Dream Whip, prepared according to directions
- 2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups of sugar
- 2 cans of blueberry pie filling
- Whipped cream (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix crust ingredients together in a small bowl. Spread evenly into the bottom of a 9X13 baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until crust turns golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Once crust is completely cooled, arrange banana slices to cover the crust.
Prepare Dream Whip according to package directions. Add the cream cheese and beat until lumps are gone. Add vanilla and sugar and beat to combine. Spread evenly over the bananas. Use a spoon or spatula to smooth the top.
Carefully cover with blueberry pie filling, making sure no filling shows.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Cut into squares and top with whipped cream.
Well Duh #1: You don’t need to butter or spray your baking dish because of the amount of butter in the crust.
Well Duh #2: This actually gets better the longer it chills. Last night, my friend Carla and her husband Bill stopped by on their way home. There was a terrible storm, so I was glad they stopped here to let it pass. I offered some of this dessert (yes, it was after 10 PM and I offered dessert!) and it was even better than the first time I cut into it!
Well Duh #3: Dream Whip can be found on the aisle with baking ingredients. For some reason, it always seems to be on the top shelf! It’s in a box like this:
I was so happy that my kids loved this dessert! I have so many happy memories of time at Nanny’s with all the grandkids. I can just hear her now, “Felicia Ann, come help me with this!” I wish my kids had known her and my other grandparents. So much wisdom and love. I’m happy that I can at least keep several of their traditions alive with food.
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