Deliberately, Hannah pushed those thoughts out of her mind. She didn’t want to think about the number of times something she’d baked had been present at someone’s violent demise.
“You’re right, Ross,” she admitted. “But that’s understandable if you think about it. I’m the only baker in Lake Eden and almost everyone who lives there loves desserts. If they don’t make desserts themselves, they buy them from The Cookie Jar. It’s a little like saying that clothing leads to murder because the victim is usually wearing it at the murder scene.”
“So you don’t feel bad about your Banana Cream Pie being right there?”
Hannah sighed. Ross was like a dog with a bone. He didn’t seem capable of letting the idea go. She could feel herself prickling with irritation, but she pushed that emotion back. “No, I don’t feel bad . . . not really, not if she wasn’t actually eating the pie when she was killed. It’s a great pie and it’s very popular in Lake Eden.”
“Then you’re not going to stop baking it just because it was there when someone was killed?”
“No, I won’t stop baking it. I refuse to give in to superstition. I’ll make as many as my customers want to buy.”
“Good!” Ross looked very relieved and Hannah was puzzled.
“Why were you so concerned that I might take it off The Cookie Jar menu?”
“Because I’ve never tasted it. And Banana Cream Pie is one of my very favorite pies.”
Hannah gave a little laugh. “All right then. I’ll bake one for you when we get back to Lake Eden.”
“Thanks, Hannah.” Ross gave her another hug and then he released her to glance at his watch. “If you’re going to freshen up, you’d better do it now. If we don’t leave here in a couple of minutes, we’ll lose our dinner res—” He stopped in mid-sentence. “Is it still okay if we go out to dinner?”
“We can go. I’ll be just fine as long as you promise me one thing.”
“What is it, Cookie?”
“If they happen to have Banana Cream Pie on the dessert menu, promise me that you won’t order it. I want you to taste mine first!”
HANNAH’S BANANA CREAM PIE
Salted Pretzel Crust
Banana Cream Pie Filling
Whipped Caramel Topping
Hannah’s 1st Note: Make the crust first. It has to cool before you put in the filling. Once the filling is in place, the pie must “set” before you make the whipped caramel topping.
Salted Pretzel Crust
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
2 cups finely crushed salted pretzels (measure AFTER crushing – this will take approximately ? of a 16-ounce bag of salted thin stick pretzels.) (I used Snyder’s original stick pretzels.)
? cup (4 ounces, 1 stick, ? pound) salted butter, melted 2 Tablespoons ( cup) firmly packed brown sugar
Before you start to make the crust, prepare a 9-inch round Springform pan (the kind you’d use to make cheesecake with a clamp on the side that you can release to lift out the bottom). Spray the inside of the pan with Pam or another nonstick baking spray.
Mix the 2 cups of crushed salted pretzels with the melted butter and the brown sugar. Mix until thoroughly combined.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: You can crush the pretzels by putting them in a Ziploc bag and using a rolling pin, but it’s a lot easier if you put them in a food processor and use the steel blade in an on-and-off motion.
Place the crust mixture into the bottom of the pan you’ve chosen. Using your impeccably clean hands, press it down as evenly as you can over the bottom and two inches up the sides.
Bake your pretzel crumb crust at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.
Take your crust out of the oven and let it cool on a cold stovetop burner or a wire rack for at least an hour. (Longer is fine, too. I’ve made my crust the day before I made the rest of the pie. If you do this, cover your crust loosely, but do not refrigerate it.)
Banana Cream Pie Filling
2 perfectly ripe bananas (yellow with no black spots on the peel)
2 packages (4-serving size each) instant vanilla pudding (I used Jell-O)
2 and ? cups cold whole milk ? cup rum (I used Bacardi)
1 cup thawed whipped topping (I used Cool Whip)
Hannah’s 1st Note: Use a rum that’s colorless for a prettier pie.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: If you’d like to make this recipe alcohol-free, simply use 2 and ? cups of whole milk and forget about the rum in a bowl.
To assemble the pie, slice the banana into quarter-inch rounds and place the banana slices in the bottom of the completely cooled pretzel crust.
Mix the two packages of dry instant vanilla pudding with the milk and the rum in a bowl.
Beat for 2 minutes with a whisk or a slotted spoon until the pudding has thickened.
Add the cup of thawed whipped topping to the pudding and mix it in. Don’t overmix or you’ll mix out all the air in the topping. The air will give your pie volume and make it look prettier.
Spoon the pudding mixture into the pretzel crust and smooth it out with a rubber spatula.
Cover your partially-completed pie loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil or with wax paper. Then place the Springform pan inside the refrigerator for 4 hours to “set”.
Whipped Caramel Topping
1 cup whipped topping, thawed (I used thawed Cool Whip)
? cup caramel ice cream topping at room temperature (I used Smucker’s)
Place the whipped topping in a bowl.
With a rubber spatula, fold in the caramel ice cream topping until it is well combined.
Rinse off the rubber spatula, dry it, and “frost” the top of your Banana Cream Pie with the Caramel Whipped Topping.
Once your pie is “frosted”, touch the side of your rubber spatula to the top of the Whipped Caramel Topping and pull it up quickly. Use the same motion you’d use to make points in the meringue all over the top of a pie.
Let your pie sit in the refrigerator, uncovered, for another 30 minutes or longer before you prepare to serve it.
You can garnish the top of your pie by drizzling on more of the caramel ice cream topping.