INGREDIENTS

• 2 bags Pepperidge Farm Chess man cookies
• 1 can Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk
• 1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
• 1 package French Vanilla instant pudding
• 1 12 oz tub Cool Whip
• 4 ripe bananas

PREPARATION

1. Prepare using a 9 x 12 baking or serving dish.

2. First, sort your cookies.  You will want to open both packages – you will use them all.   Be sure to put the broken cookies on the bottom of the dish.  Line the bottom of the dish completely. 

3. Make the French vanilla pudding next.  (The regular vanilla pudding can be used but is not as yellow as the French vanilla pudding.)  Set in the refrigerator to firm up. 

4. Bring the cream cheese to room temperature.  Using a hand mixer, blend the cream cheese with the sweetened condensed milk until smooth.  Don’t even try this if the cream cheese is not warm.  You will be sorry you even started. 

5. Take the vanilla pudding out of the refrigerator and mix in the entire 12 oz. container of cool whip being sure to blend it gently. 

6. Once this is fully blended, mix in the cream cheese/sweetened condensed milk mixture, again gently. 

7. Now for the hard part.  In the cookie-lined dish, cut the bananas in wheels, being sure to cover the bottom of the dish completely.  Once you have used as many bananas as you like, pour the pudding mixture completely over it.  Cover the top carefully with the remaining whole chessman cookies. 

8. Refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours. 

9. By the way, you can use lite or fat free condensed milk, cream cheese, cool whip, and skim milk to make the pudding.  If  you use all fat free stuff, the pudding will not firm up, it will be more like banana soup.  But it's still good.  You can also use lite cream cheese, cool whip and 1 or 2% milk to save a few calories.