Toasted coconut banana cream pie
Happy July 4th! And what can be more American than a cream pie? Using an instant pudding mix, Cool Whip, crackers, bananas, and coconut flakes, you too can make a semi-homemade dessert that is guaranteed to please your guests and make you cringe a little on the inside. But hey, though the ingredients aren't the most natural, this is definitely an extremely time saving and surprisingly low calorie dessert choice. Go America.
8-10 whole wheat digestive biscuits, crumbled
2-3 bananas, sliced
1 1/2 cup low fat milk
1 package vanilla flavor instant pudding (fat and sugar free)
2 cups Cool Whip
1 1/2 cup coconut flakes
1/4 cup coconut oil
1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. Melt 1/4 cup coconut oil and mix with crumbled digestive cookies and 2/3 cup of the coconut flakes.
3. Press evenly to a 8x8" square pan or 9" pie plate and bake for 10 minutes.
4. In the meantime, mix the milk and the pudding mix in a large bowl. Incorporate 1/2 cup of coconut flakes. 5. In a pan, toast the remaining 1/3 cup coconut flakes on low heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown. (Be sure to keep an eye on it because they burn easily.)
6. Once the crust has slightly cooled, line with banana slices. Then cover with pudding mixture and finally spread the whipped topping.
7. Sprinkle with toasted coconut flakes and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
Optional: stir in a small can of crushed pineapple into the Cool Whip topping for an extra tropical twist!
