Banana Cream Brownie Squares (Shortcut Version)

I think I’ve mentioned that I used to sell Pampered Chef, where the recipes were adapted to make in front of a live audience to sell the product (the cookbooks have an index by product, no kidding!). This past Easter, my mom and sister requested that I make one of the desserts I used to make quite a bit from the Pampered Chef Casual Cooking cookbook.

Today I’m going to share the original recipe, which I’ll call the shortcut version. I made it dozens of times and it turns out great. However, you’ll notice that it’s primarily boxed ingredients. Over the next couple of days I’ll share how I tried to adapt it for a more “from-scratch” experience, which is the version I actually made for Easter. Think they’ll notice?

Ingredients:

• 3/4 C peanuts, chopped, divided
• 1 pkg brownie mix (15-17 oz; plus ingredients to make the brownies)
• 3 medium bananas, divided
• 1 pkg (5.1 oz) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling
• 1 1/4 C cold milk
• 1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
• 12 strawberries
• chocolate curls (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions; stir in1/2 of the chopped peanuts; pour into 8×8 pan and bake according to package directions. Cool completely or overnight.
2. Slice two of the bananas and place in a single layer over the cooked and cooled brownies. In a medium bowl, whisk pudding mix and milk until it just begins to thicken. Gently fold in 2 1/2 C of the whipped topping and spread over bananas. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Sprinkle remaining peanuts over the pudding mixture. Garnish with the leftover whipped topping (if you have a decorator tube it works great), sliced strawberries, sliced bananas, and chocolate curls.

Serves 12

Nutrition Info: 390 Calories, 17 g fat, 52 g carbs, 7 g protein, 3 g fiber.

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Related posts:

1. Two Picnic Dessert Recipes For Spring
2. Ground Cherry Squares
3. Salted Caramel Brownies

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