Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy

Seriously! Are these little jars filled with creamy peanut butter and banana lusciousness not the cutest things ever? I could just eat them up with a spoon. As a matter of fact, I did just that. And they were wonderful. I call them Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pies in a Jar, because…well…because that’s pretty much what they are. They include all of the components of a classic pie, except they’re layered in small, self-contained, single serving jars. Pretty clever, huh? Yeah. I think so too.

I was cleaning out a few things in my prop room, when I came across some Bormioli canning jars that I didn’t even remember I had. I couldn’t find the rubber rims, so actually canning something in them was pretty much out of the question. I thought it would be fun to fill them with some kind of scoopable dessert, like a custard or panna cotta. Then, a bunch of bananas sitting on the counter caught my eye. “Hmmm,” I thought, “What about banana pudding with vanilla wafers, just like my mother used to make?” That sounded like a plan. Then, I noticed the jar of peanut butter next to the box of vanilla wafers, and remembered the most amazing peanut butter cream pie that one of our local restaurants is famous for. I die over that pie! Honestly, I just couldn’t choose between the two, so I decided to make them both – in the same dessert. Peanut butter and bananas are already BFFs, so it made perfect sense to pair them up. It was one of the best decisions I ever made!

To make the “crust” for my “pies”, I pulverized some vanilla wafers into crumbs and mixed them with a little sugar and melted butter. Then, I pressed a thin layer of the mixture down into the bottom of each jar. After that, I added layers of homemade vanilla bean pastry cream, sliced bananas and peanut butter crumblies that I made by blending crunchy peanut butter and powdered sugar together. After they were assembled, I snapped on the lids and stored them in the fridge until I was ready to serve them. It was as easy as pie (pun intended)! And OMG people, they were unbelievably good! I could have slurped down that whole bowl of pastry cream all by itself. Mixed with the other ingredients, it was completely off the charts!

I’ve made other desserts like this before. I love the idea that everybody gets their own individual portion. It’s a lot easier than slicing up a pie, it’s neater to eat and it’s a lot more fun. I think I might really be on to something here. I’m already toying with the idea of pumpkin streusel pie in a jar for Thanksgiving and apple crumb pie in a jar for Christmas. Think about it. You could literally do this with any kind of pie ingredients. The possibilities are endless. Deliciously and gloriously endless!