Banana Cream Pie in a Vanilla Wafer Crust

We especially love this pie in the summer time; we don?t have to bake it. It goes together quickly and easily and is so scrumptious?ripe bananas, a smooth vanilla custard, and vanilla wafer crumb crust. Mmm . . . This deep-dish pie will be a hit wherever you serve it. And with a crumb crust, you didn?t have to toil away to make it. But don?t tell your guests that. This is one of the relatively few recipes that use egg yolks instead of whole eggs or egg whites. Save the egg whites for meringue cookies or a lemon meringue pie or your favorite angel food cake. You will need a nine-inch, deep-dish pie pan. Since it is not baked, a glass or ceramic pan will work just fine.
For the crust:

2 cups crushed vanilla wafers
1 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted

1. Crush the vanilla wafers. (See The Baker?s Note.) Place the crushed wafers in a deep-dish pan.

2. Add the sugar. Stir to combine.

3. Add the melted butter and combine well.

4. Press the mixture into the buttered pie pan making certain that the crust is evenly thick.

5. Place the crust in the freezer to get hard while you make the filling.
The Baker?s Note: This is how we crush cookies, vanilla, wafers, and graham cracker. Place handful of crackers or cookies in a heavy-duty plastic bag. Using a rolling pin, roll over the cookies to crush them. When crushed, empty the bag into a measuring cup and repeat the process until you have the desired amount of crumbs.

For the filling:
Three small to medium-sized bananas
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoons salt
2 cups milk or light cream
4 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoon butter
1. Place the dry ingredients in a saucepan. Add the milk or light cream and whisk together. Add the egg yolks and whisk those in.

2. Heat over low heat, stirring regularly, until the mixture is thick and just begins to bubble. Add the butter and vanilla and stir.

3. Let the mixture cool for fifteen minutes. Spread the banana slices evenly across the bottom of the pie shell. Pour the filling over the banana slices. Chill for several hours.

Baker?s note: To get the pie slices to release easily from the pie pan, heat up a wet dish cloth in the microwave and heat until hot. Fold the cloth into a nine-inch square and place it on the counter. Place the pie on the hot cloth. In a few minutes, the heat will soften the butter in the crumb crust enough that slices will slide from the pan. Dennis Weaver, The Prepared Pantry
http://ww.nancys-kitchen.com/May2006/
Chris in NM

http://www.nancyskitchen.com