Peanut Butter Banana Icebox Cake

I am notorious for trying out new recipes on guests. I know they say not to do that, and it makes sense…what if it’s a total flop? But I just can’t help myself. So we were having some friends over for dinner a couple of weeks ago, and I was looking for a new idea for dessert. If you’ve been around the blog before, you know my love affair with peanut butter is no secret, so immediately, my mind went there. And I happened to know our guests share my affinity for peanut butter. It seems icebox cupcakes and cakes are all the rage lately, but until now, I really was uninterested. I mean, layering cookies with pudding so they get all mushy just didn’t sound that appealing to me. But something in my head clicked with the peanut butter and bananas, so I decided to combine my beloved peanut butter with this recent trend. I am so glad I gave it a chance, because, wow!

What I came up with was really easy but so amazingly delicious. Here’s how it came together. I took some vanilla wafer cookies, then layered on a vanilla pudding, peanut butter, whipped topping concoction (basically what I made in a previous trifle recipe), followed by a layer of bananas. Then I repeated the cookies and pudding layers and topped with peanut butter chips, and of course, chocolate chips. Because where there is peanut butter, there must be chocolate. The result was a mind-boggling deliciously fluffy dessert. It’s so satisfying, you’d never know it’s so simple. The combination of peanut butter, banana, and chocolate is pure bliss. I think this will be my go to dessert to bring to cookouts this summer!

Ingredients:

3.4 oz instant vanilla pudding (I used fat free sugar free)
1 3/4 cups cold skim milk
1/2 to 2/3 cup peanut butter, depending on how much you like
8 oz whipped topping (lite or fat free if you like)
1 box of vanilla wafer cookies
2 large ripe bananas, sliced about 1/4″ thick
peanut butter chips and/or chocolate chips for topping (optional)

In a medium bowl, whisk pudding mix and milk. Allow to stand for about five minutes until set. Whisk in peanut butter, and then fold in whipped topping.

In an 8×8 or 9×9 pan (I actually used a 2.5 qt casserole dish), place a single layer of the cookies. Top with 1/2 of the pudding mixture. Then layer on the banana slices. Repeat another layer of cookies and then another layer of pudding. Top with peanut butter chips and/or chocolate chips.