Banana: The New American Pie

I'm a born-again baker. As a youngster, I enjoyed baking, mostly cookies, and mostly because I loved eating sweets (and licking the cookie batter bowl). I never ventured to try baking a pie, thinking that making a pie crust was akin to making a free-climb out of the Grand Canyon. With the arrival of adolescence then adulthood, I gravitated to other interests, and I found my sweet tooth could be satisfied more quickly and easily with store or restaurant purchases. So alas I drifted into the baking dark ages. I was lost and now I'm found.

Marriage brought me not only a wonderful wife, but also a woman who is a cooking wonder and well-versed and practiced in pie crust making. So a baking rebirth was in the works. What's more, frozen store-bought pie crusts also arrived on the scene. Now, even if my wife is away or too tired to help, I have no excuse.

Instead of the All-American favorite apple pie, I'm going to present one of the recipes I've come up with: homemade, sugar-free banana pie. No not banana cream pie that many of us are familiar with. But good ol' banana pie. Think of apple pie but made with bananas instead. And it's sugar-free to boot. Good deal.

The first step is to acquire about four pounds of bananas. Here in Honolulu, I head to Chinatown, where a plethora of fruit and vegetable stands are in business, offering their wares for good (read: cheap) prices. Try to find a similar venue where you live.

When purchasing bananas, get ones that are slightly on the green side. You don't want ripe or overly ripe bananas. If they feel mushy to the touch, don't get them or else you'll have a mushy pie. Not good.

For pie crust, I usually buy the frozen store-bought kind. I watch for sales and can get a frozen top and bottom crust for under $2. If you want to make your own, a good sugar-free pie crust recipe can be found here.

Other ingredients and amounts needed are:

1 cup of Splenda
3 tbsp of corn starch (I have substituted flour instead)
1 tsp of cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
5 pats of butter
1 tsp of milk

With bananas purchased and in hand, head home and set your oven to 425 degrees and begin preparation.

Peel the bananas, then dice them into one-inch chunks into a large mixing bowl. A butter knife will work fine for this.

If you are using frozen store-bought pie crust, remove it from the freezer at this point. It is important not to remove the crust too soon because if left out too long, it will fall apart and become difficult to work with.

In a medium bowl, combine the Splenda, corn starch, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well.

After that, sprinkle small batches of the Splenda mixture over the diced bananas, stirring as you go. Continue until you have mixed all the dry ingredients with the bananas.

At this point, place spoonfuls of bananas into one of the pie crusts. Using your spoon, tamp down the bananas to reduce air pockets and dead spaces in your pie. Continue spooning in the bananas, tamping as you go. Don't worry if the bananas pile up higher than the lip of the pie crust, for this only means you'll have a dense, delicious, and robust pie. Next, place the pats of butter on the top layer of bananas. If you want to lower the fat content of the recipe, omit the butter.

Now it is time to place the top crust. Simply take the second crust and place it over the filled-in pie. Assuming the use of a frozen store-bought crust, what helps me get this done without incident is to loosen the edges of the top crust from its pan before turning it over to place on the filled-in pie. Tapping on the pan also helps the top crust fall evenly on the bottom crust.

That done, seal the edges of the two crusts with your fingers. Repair any holes or breaks in the top crust with your fingers as well. After that, use a fork to poke vent holes across the top crust. Then spread the milk over the top crust. Doing this will give will give your pie the beauty and luster you are used to seeing from bakery-purchased versions.

Put the pie in the preheated oven and bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the top crust is golden brown. Enjoy the wonderful smell of a baking pie wafting through your house or apartment. And enjoy a healthy alternative to the All-American dessert.