Mom's Nanner Pudding

Since I didn't get to post last Wednesday, here's a favorite family recipe. When we were newlyweds, hubby asked me if I could fix his favorite dessert - Banana Pudding. Realizing I didn't know what it was, he then placed a call to his mom and asked for the recipe. Here is my mother-in-law's, Almeta, recipe for Banana Pudding or "Mom's Nanner Pudding" like my hubby would say.

Mom’s Nanner Pudding

Pudding Ingredients:
½ cup flour
2 egg yolks, well-beaten (save the egg whites for later – for the meringue)
2 ½ cups milk
1 tbsp. Vanilla powder
1tbsp. Butter
a pinch of salt
1 cup sugar

Meringue topping ingredients:
2 egg whites
¼ tsp. cream of tartar
6 tbsp. Sugar

*Vanilla wafer cookies

1. Cook milk, sugar, salt and flour together in a wok or pan. Stir over medium heat until the mixture comes together like gravy. Keep stirring all the time to prevent lumps forming.
2. When the mixture looks like loose gravy add the beaten egg yolks and STIR CONSTANTLY until thickened to pudding consistency.
3. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and the butter and stir some more. Set aside.
4. Get your Vanilla Wafer cookies (I use the Nilla wafer kind) or if you don’t have them, find your favorite vanilla wafer cookie recipe. Bake the vanilla cookies and when done set aside.
5. For the meringue topping, take a mixer and a clean bowl. In the bowl put the egg whites and beat it with the mixer until soft peaks form on the mixture. The egg whites should look white now and slowly add sugar (sprinkling it around the bowl while mixing.) Add the cream of tartar too now. Keep adding sugar while bating the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set aside when the egg whites look like white icing.
6. Now it is time to layer the dish. First put a layer of vanilla cookies on the bottom of the pan or dish. Then layer pudding, then a layer of sliced bananas and then vanilla cookies again. Keep repeating the process until the dish is full. Top with meringue and brown the meringue in oven (set in 375 F degrees) for about 5-10 minutes. Watch carefully because it doesn’t take long to overbrown it.