This nostalgic Blueberry Cookie Pudding recipe puts a delightful spin on traditional banana pudding. With its straightforward preparation and burst of blueberry flavor, it’s sure to please your palate!
Blueberry Cookie Pudding: A Twist on Banana Pudding
If you’re a fan of banana pudding with its creamy vanilla custard, vanilla wafers, and slices of bananas, then there’s a delightful twist to this classic dessert that you might find irresistible. Imagine a version that swaps out bananas for blueberries, offering a unique and delicious alternative.
The Inspiration Behind Blueberry Cookie Pudding
Reflecting on childhood memories, there’s a dessert that often graced the school cafeteria menu –Blueberry Pudding. This dessert shared a striking resemblance to the traditional banana pudding, with the key difference being the substitution of blueberries for bananas. While it might seem straightforward to use fresh blueberries, there’s an important consideration to make this dessert–canned blueberries.
Canned Blueberries for Blueberry Cookie Pudding
Canned blueberries, unlike their fresh counterparts, are sweetened and imbue the dessert with the perfect level of sweetness. Fresh blueberries can render the dessert too tart so it’s crucial to select blueberries canned in fruit juice or light syrup to avoid the overly sweet taste that blueberry pie filling might introduce.
Making the Vanilla Pudding
This vanilla pudding recipe is not only simple but requires a mere five minutes to prepare. Start by combining the dry ingredients in a saucepan that features a heavy bottom to prevent scorching.
A key technique in achieving a smooth pudding texture involves thoroughly beating an egg before incorporating it with milk.
Beat the egg very well with a regular blender, immersion blender, or a small chopper (shown above). This helps to keep the cooked pudding smooth so there are no small pieces of cooked egg in it.
After beating the egg, it will be foamy when you pour it into the milk.
Cook the pudding on medium-low heat until it comes to a full boil and then remove it from the heat. It will thicken upon boiling but will continue to thicken as it cools. Flavor it with butter and vanilla and it is ready to use!
Assembling the Blueberry Cookie Pudding
Begin by crushing vanilla wafers to a mix of crumbs and larger pieces, reserving a few whole ones for garnishing.
In your serving container, layer the pudding, followed by a layer of cookies, then a layer of drained blueberries. Continue this layering pattern, finishing with a layer of pudding on top.
Garnishing Ideas
Here are some ideas for garnishing the tops of the desserts:
- Cookie crumbs and/or whole cookies
- Fresh blueberries
- Whipped cream
- Mint leaves
- Blueberry juice from the canned blueberries
I hope you enjoy this simple nostalgic blueberry dessert!
Other Blueberry Recipes You Might Enjoy
Blueberry Cookie Pudding
Ingredients
Vanilla Custard
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups whole milk (or 2% milk)
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Blueberry Cookie Pudding
- (2) 15-ounce cans blueberries, drained (use blueberries canned in juice or light syrup)
- 3 cups coarsely crushed vanilla wafers (approximately 48 cookies)
- whipped cream for garnish, optional
- ¼ cup fresh blueberries for garnish (optional)
Instructions
Vanilla Custard
- Whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium-sized saucepan. Use a blender to blend the egg until well beaten. In a large measuring cup or bowl, add the milk and the beaten egg. Stir to blend.
- Pour the milk and egg mixture into the pan and whisk to blend. Using medium-low heat, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.
- Remove the custard from the heat and add butter and vanilla. Stir until well mixed.
Blueberry Cookie Pudding
- Place 1/3 of the pudding into the bottom of six 1-cup serving bowls.
- Add 1/3 of the crushed vanilla wafers on top of the pudding in each bowl.
- Using one can of blueberries, divide it between the six bowls and place it on top of the crumbled cookies.
- Repeat the layers again using another third of the pudding, half of the crushed cookies, and the other can of blueberries.
- Add the last third of the pudding on top of the blueberries. Sprinkle the rest of the cookies on top. When ready to serve, garnish with whipped cream and fresh blueberries. May be served warm or cold. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.