· Cream Cheese is Key: Ensure your cream cheese is truly at room temperature. Cold cream cheese will leave little lumps in your pudding.
· Banana Browning: The lemon juice trick helps, but the best way to prevent browning is to ensure the bananas are completely enveloped by the pudding. Assembling just before serving is another option, but the cookies won’t be as soft.
· Pudding Mix Substitute: If you can’t find cheesecake-flavor pudding, vanilla is a perfect substitute. You could also use white chocolate pudding.
· Make it Homemade: For a from-scratch whipped topping, whip 1 ½ cups of heavy cream with 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract until stiff peaks form. Fold half into the pudding and use the other half for the top.
· Get Creative: Feel free to add a layer of strawberry jam or a drizzle of homemade strawberry sauce between the layers for an extra burst of strawberry flavor.
This dessert is always a crowd-pleaser and tastes even better the next day. Enjoy
