Yes, I’ve been having more fun playing with boxes of instant pudding again! My hubby came home from the store with an armful, lol, so here we go again! 😀

He and the neighbors are having a blast eating them, and swear these are the best cookies! And I have to admit, they are pretty darned good, and I’m not a big fan of cookies!

I had already had a plan for a “banana split” type of cookie using banana cream pudding mix, and that just happened to be one of the flavors he bought! So it was time to see if what I had in my head was going to work and actually taste like a banana split!

Below are most of the ingredients that are used in this recipe. I didn’t have any salted peanuts on hand, but I did have some cashews, and those worked really well. Along with the nuts, I added instant banana cream pudding mix, chopped, sweetened, dried real pineapple, freeze-dried real strawberries, chocolate chips, and white chocolate chips to resemble the most common flavors of a banana split. The ice cream, bananas, pineapple & strawberry fruit toppings, and chocolate syrup!

I wasn’t sure how the strawberries would do adding them in with everything else. (I didn’t want them to break down or turn the dough a funky fuchsia color, so I kept them separate to fold in last.

The dough, as always, mixed up beautifully! I chopped the larger strawberry pieces in half, and they folded in just fine!

Walnut-sized balls were made and flattened slightly with the palm of my hand, (as they don’t spread a whole lot), and then were treated to a sprinkling of kosher salt on top!

They baked up beautifully! And always remember!! These cookies will NOT look done when you take them out and will still be very soft on top. These cookies set up as they cool, so do not over bake them.

I swear to you, I really did get a total of 30 cookies! But 3 “magically disappeared” before I could even finish them…..my hubby couldn’t wait any longer after smelling them baking!

God love that man.

I then toasted a bit of coconut, lightly, for the big finish!

I forgot to snap a quick pic of the creamy glaze, but I glazed them, and then placed a maraschino cherry in the center. They then got a nice sprinkling of toasted coconut, and, of course, colorful, festive sprinkles!

Aren’t they just too cute?!! 😀

It was a whopping 93º outside that day! So when I took them from the cold fridge to the massive heat and humidity outside to get a decent shot or two, the hardened glaze remelted a bit, also melting the sprinkles just a little, and the cookies warmed in the blazing sun – – but BOY were they ever good!!!

But, most importantly, did they taste like a “banana split”??

YES!!!!! Yes, they sure did!!!!

I was thrilled with the results! 😀 And so was my hubby and the neighbors!! The cookie monsters were fed and happy, and we all now have a new cookie for the summer!

Whether you like yours icebox-cold, kitchen counter temp, or “sun-warmed”, you’re really going to enjoy this one! They’re truly fantastic at any temperature!

So don’t put off making these! Try them out soon, and make your inner cookie monster happy, too! Summer slips by all too quickly, so enjoy them now with a tall, frosty glass of milk or an icy-cold homemade milkshake! Take care all! 😀

*If “Banana Split” flavor isn’t one of your favorites, you might want to try my other flavors made with boxes of Instant Pudding Mix: “Salted White Chocolate & Butter Rum Pudding Cookies with Pecans“, “Chocolate – Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies with Pecans & Sea Salt“, & “Salted White Chocolate Pistachio Cookies with Baileys Irish Cream“.

28 - 30 cookies

Soft & Chewy Banana Split Pudding Cookies

Ingredients

2¼ cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 (3.4 oz.) box instant banana cream pudding mix
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. "ripe banana" flavoring*
1 cup quality milk chocolate chips such as Ghirardelli
1 cup quality white chocolate chips, (same as above)
1/3 cup coarsely chopped peanuts or cashews, salted or unsalted
1/2 cup chopped sweetened dried pineapple
1 cup coarsely chopped dried, or freeze dried, strawberries
sea salt, to sprinkle lightly

For Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbl. very soft butter
5 Tbl. heavy cream

For "Toppings":

maraschino cherries, drained and halved or quartered
lightly toasted coconut, (about a 1/3 of a cup)
colored sprinkles

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350º F (175º C).

Sift, or whisk well, the flour and baking soda, set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in instant pudding mix until blended. Mix in the eggs, vanilla and banana flavoring until combined, but not over mixed. Blend in the flour mixture.

Fold in the chocolate chips, nut and fruit mixture. *Fold in freeze dried strawberries last, adding as you fold.

Drop cookies by large rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. (*The size of a large walnut.) Lightly press cookies flatter with palm of hand.

Lightly sprinkle tops with kosher or sea salt.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in preheated oven. Edges should be lightly browned. Don't over bake.

Remove from baking sheet carefully to a rack to cool.

*They will look like they aren't done, but they will set up as they cool. (While cookies are cooling, set up toppings.)

When cooled, make glaze.

For Glaze:

In medium bowl, mix ingredients until smooth.

To Finish:

Dip tops of cookies into creamy glaze letting excess drip away, turn over onto cooling rack. Top with a piece of maraschino cherry in the center, then sprinkle with toasted coconut and colored sprinkles.

Chill to set glaze. Store cookies in an airtight container on the counter for softer cookies, or in the fridge.

Notes

I order my "Ripe Banana" flavoring online from Spice Barn, but you can use whatever brand you want. I just happen to like this one. It really does have a "ripe banana" flavor.