Anne's Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Banana Cream Pie

Ingredients

• 65 vanilla wafers cookies, finely crushed
• 1 stick butter, melted, plus more for pan
• 3 ripe bananas, peeled, thinly sliced on a diagonal
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1/2 cup peanut brittle, ground into crumbs
• Chocolate Pudding, recipe follows
• Peanut Butter Cream, recipe follows
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoons almond extract
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut brittle, broken into bite-size pieces

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a deep 9 by 2-inch pie plate.

Drizzle the crushed vanilla wafers with the melted butter and stir until blended. Press on the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. Pop in the oven and bake until lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes.

Toss the banana slices with the orange juice, making sure all the slices get coated. (This helps keep the bananas from browning.) Place the slices on a paper towel-lined plate and pat any excess juices dry.

Arrange half the banana slices in a single layer over the cooled crust. Cover completely with the Chocolate Pudding, spreading it with an offset spatula or butter knife. Top with the rest of the bananas. Sprinkle the peanut brittle crumbs over the bananas. Place dollops of the Peanut Butter Cream on top, spreading it out evenly. Chill the pie in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

Whip the cream until stiff peaks are just about to form. Whip in the almond extract and sugar until stiff peaks form.

Take the pie out of the refrigerator. Place dollops of the whipped cream on top and spread it out evenly. Scatter pieces of peanut brittle on top and serve.