Banana Split Bars and Nervous Store Clerks

One of these days I’m going to be tossed out of my local grocery store. They think I’m mad in there. Crazy. Insane. The lady who stands staring at ice cream toppings for 30 minutes looking like she's lost her mind.

My muse is the grocery store, much to the dismay of nervous checkers and clerks. Someday I’ll tell them I’m just brainstorming another cookie idea. Someday. For now it’s more fun to make them fidget and look at me nervously.

They’d change their not-so-secret opinions about me if they tasted these banana split bars. Though, after all these years they’d probably be too nervous to eat anything I baked.

Banana Split Bars

(Printer Version)
2/3rds of a (14.4 ounce) box Chocolate Graham Crackers
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
1 (5.1 ounce) box Jell-O banana cream instant pudding
2 eggs
2 (8 ounce) boxes full fat cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons strawberry sundae syrup
½ (12 ounce) jar pineapple topping
1/3 cup salted peanuts, chopped

1. Line a 9x13 inch pan with foil. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Crush Graham crackers in a bag with the back of a spoon until crackers are crushed, but not uniform in size. Don’t do this in a food processor. Place cracker crumbs in a bowl and mix with melted butter.

3. Set aside ½ cup for topping and press the rest of the crushed crackers into the pan. Bake for 5 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, beat together Jell-O, eggs, cream cheese, milk, vanilla extract and salt slowly until mixed. Then beat on medium high for 4 minutes. Pour mixture over hot crumb base.

5. Swirl in strawberry sundae topping and pineapple topping. Sprinkle with remaining cracker crumbs then lastly top with peanuts.

6. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. For easier cutting freeze bars in the pan, then pull out by the foil and peel it off, cut off the very ends, and cut into strips and then into squares.

Recipe and photograph by Laura Flowers.

P.S. The weekly post for Clara’s Cold Lunch Corner is over for now. School is coming to a close and I’m repeating lunches. I’ll likely post it periodically as I collect new ideas so don’t give up on it yet please!