I am delighted to have our first guest blogger – our new bookkeeper Barbara. It amazes me what she can create with some HomeFree cookies, pudding, and her imagination. I’m especially impressed that she so well rose to the task of making it allergy friendly and gluten free.

Jill

Hi! My name is Barbara Anderson and I am the bookkeeper at HomeFree, LLC in Windham, New Hampshire. My passion in life is baking, so you can imagine how enthusiastic I am to be employed at HomeFree! I have worked in the food industry for many years, and have currently been accepted on the Consumer Advisory Panel at King Arthur Flour Company. I also do testing for Cooks Illustrated. I look forward to testing (and of course tasting) new creations in the allergen free venue.

It was my intention to formulate a banana pudding with fresh banana flavor and ease of preparation. I began by preparing a package of organic gluten free banana pudding as directed. I found this pudding a bit lacking in true banana flavor.

I then decided to start with a basic vanilla pudding. Still wanting to make this an easy formulation that would only take minutes to prepare, I continued to use a packaged pudding mix. I again used an organic gluten free pudding mix.

After letting the pudding set and cool, I decided to add fresh bananas. I wanted to retain a pudding consistency and was not in favor of just adding sliced bananas. I placed two bananas in my food processor and pulsed until fairly smooth with small lumps remaining.

I wanted the banana puree to be only somewhat smooth and certainly not liquid like. I added this banana puree to the vanilla pudding. When I tasted this, I knew I was on the right track….not just quite there yet. The fresh taste of the banana and the depth of the vanilla in the vanilla pudding was exactly what I was looking for. I just needed a bit more of a banana kick. I then decided to add just a bit of banana extract. Now I had the kick in the pudding I was searching for.

Traditional Southern Banana Pudding calls for a vanilla cookie. Wanting to keep this desert gluten free, I turned to the HomeFree brand of Gluten Free Mini Vanilla Cookies. These are award winning cookies, which are allergy friendly treats all your guests can eat! Not just for individuals who require Gluten Free. This cookie has a great crunchy texture which led me to think that a crunchy crumble topping may be fun to try. There would be more crunchy vanilla cookie pieces with each bite of pudding.

HomeFree also makes a Gluten Free Mini Chocolate Chocolate chip cookie. I decided to make a crunchy crumble of each cookie. I was delighted with both crumbles.

For a banana pudding with a twist I took a martini glass and placed a layer of chocolate crumble on the bottom, continuing to fill the glass with the banana pudding and topping with the vanilla crunch crumble topping. I added a few sliced bananas on top, and garnished with a sprig of mint.

Recipe:
For the Pudding:
One (1) Package Gluten Free Vanilla Pudding – Prepare as directed
Two (2) Ripe Bananas (yellow – not over-ripe), mashed
1/8 Tsp. Banana Extract – Optional (you may substitute with ½ tsp. of banana liquor)
For the crumble:
2 ½ ounces Gluten Free Mini Vanilla Cookies (about 18 cookies)
½ tsp. Agave Amber Syrup or 2 tsps. Pure Cane Sugar
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ pinch of table salt
1 Tbsp. Canola Oil

Make the pudding as directed. Place plastic wrap directly on pudding. Place in refrigerator till set and cool. When the pudding is set, add the mashed bananas and banana extract. Return to refrigerator till firm, being sure to place plastic wrap on the pudding so a skin will not form. Chill about 4 hours or overnight. While the pudding sets, prepare the vanilla crumble.

Heat the oven to 325 D. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Place the cookies in a sealable plastic bag. Using a rolling pin, crush the vanilla cookies until they are coarsely ground. Transfer to a small bowl. Stir in the agave syrup, cinnamon, salt and melted butter. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and bake until the cookie mixture has browned slightly and is quite fragrant, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool. The crumble can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container for up to 6 days at room temperature.

To make a chocolate crumble, follow the same procedure as the vanilla only omitting the cinnamon and table salt and decreasing the sugar to 1 tsp. (Agave Amber Syrup to ¼ tsp.).

To Serve:
Slice a banana crosswise (if you like, sprinkle with a tiny bit of fresh lemon juice to prevent browning). Use 6 custard cups or small martini glasses. If desired, line with the chocolate crumble mixture. Then divide the pudding into the serving cups.

Just prior to serving, sprinkle the tops of the pudding with the vanilla crumble mixture. If desired also top with a few whole crunchy vanilla cookies and slices of bananas.

Enjoy!