Grandma's Banana Cream Pie with a twist

Hello Ladies,

Several years ago a very wise older homemaking mentor of mine, Marg, taught me that men naturally have a sweet tooth.  They seem to be born with it.  When SHE learned this from a woman, she did the same experiment I did, and found the same results. The experiment?  I, as Marg did, started watching my husband with eating treats.  If I didn't make anything, he would dig to find things to make something instant and sweet.  Ice cream with shaved chocolate topping, Buttered toast with jelly, anything.  If we went out he would order an amazing dessert that was huge.

Now just to caveat, I don't eat sugar. So 9 times out of 10 when he orders something, I get tea or a fruit cup, but usually I just enjoy how much he enjoys it.

So, back to my experiment.  I love to read old homemaking books and found one last winter that the author spoke of "you must make your husband some sort of sweet course to satisfy his sweet tooth. So daily make sure to pack a bit of something you made in his lunch." Wow!

So I made a plan and didn't tell him.  The first weekend of the month of May, I made a pie - (banana cream that month), the second week - some sort of cookie (his favorite chocolate chip), the third week - some sort of cake (like apple cake made gluten free with honey), and the fourth week- a fruit bake something, anything with fruit in it (I made a apple crisp with strawberries and chocolate chips in it).  I told him if he played his cards right, the dessert would last from Sunday at least until Wed or Thursday.

The result! It worked.  He stopped digging. He doesn't go out and get huge desserts with gosh knows what in it, and I get to try various recipes each month. :-)

I didn't make much in August with many events in our home so I got lazy, store bought cookies and pieces of dark chocolate. The result...he started getting "fru fru coffee" as I call it, and doughnuts at men's group at church.

So this month, I have just made a second attempt at a banana cream pie. The last one turned out good, but I used a regular homemade gluten free pie crust. As I said, it was ok.  I also didn't care for the cornstarch.

This time around I used a different recipe and sub'ed all sorts of ingredients.  The results....fabulous!!

Keep in mind I am no chef, just love to make treats without sugar.

So here is the recipe:

Grandma's Banana Cream Pie with a twist

1/2 c. Maple syrup
1/3 c. Gluten free all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 c. Rice milk
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 T butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 med. bananas

1 pie crust (see mine below for an option)
Whipped cream (we don't use this)

1. Make the crust first: 3T melted butter and 1 1/2 c. crushed graham crackers. use pastry blender or your hands. ( don't have a pastry blender).

    Line pie crust pan or 8x8 pan with parchment, then press in crust. Set aside.

2. In a saucepan, combine maple syrup, flour, and salt.  Pour in milk and stir.

3. Cook over med stirring constantly until thick and comes to a boil for 2 min.

4. Remove from heat, stir a small amount of cream into the egg yolks, then return to saucepan.

5. Cook for 2 min, staring constantly. Remove from heat

6. Add butter and vanilla, mix well and allow to cool slightly.

7. While it's cooling a bit, slice the bananas and place on crust.

8. Pour cream over top of the bananas.

9. Cool or refrigerate about an hour. Top with whipped cream and banana decorations.

Refrigerate leftovers, making sure to cover completely with Cling Wrap so the air doesn't dry it out.

(Original recipe from Genius Kitchen titled: Granny's Banana Cream Pie by ratherbeswimmin)


**Update- Well, it was amazing, though it didn't set.  It was more pudding.  I will add either more flour or arrowroot starch next time. But oh my, was it tasty..**

Peace be with you,
Mrs. Peterson