Snickerdoodle Banana Pudding is a layered, make-ahead dessert built on cinnamon whipped cream, homemade caramel, snickerdoodle shortbread cookies, and fresh bananas.
This one started with a very simple observation: banana pudding and snickerdoodle cookies were clearly begging to go together, and if cinnamon and caramel are already friends, why not invite everyone to the party. The result is somewhere between a caramel sauce, a cinnamon roll, and a classic banana pudding - and it is very good. If you love this one, you might also want to visit my Magnolia-Style Banana Pudding, my Banana Foster Banana Pudding, and my Classic Brioche Cinnamon Rolls - all very reasonable places to spend your afternoon.
Why You'll Love Snickerdoodle Banana Pudding
- It tastes like a cinnamon roll and a banana pudding had a very delicious baby
- The homemade caramel is genuinely worth the ten minutes it takes, and you will want to put it on everything
- It is a make-ahead dessert, meaning the hard part is done the night before and you just show up and look impressive
- The cinnamon whipped cream is doing a lot of quiet, important work in here
- It feeds a crowd without requiring any baking, any special equipment, or any stress
Ingredient Overview
Here is everything you need and a few notes on why each one earns its place:
- Granulated sugar - the base of the caramel; do not substitute
- Water and light corn syrup - the corn syrup helps prevent crystallization, which is the enemy
- Heavy cream - used twice: warmed and added to the caramel, then whipped into the pudding. Both times it is doing important work
- Unsalted butter - added to the caramel at the end for gloss and richness
- Vanilla extract and salt - salt especially; do not skip it
- Instant vanilla pudding mix (5.1 oz, the larger box) - the backbone; no shame here
- Cold milk and sweetened condensed milk - together they create a pudding base that is richer and more interesting than either one alone
- Snickerdoodle shortbread cookies - more on these below, they matter
- 6 to 8 bananas, sliced - ripe but not sad; you want flavor, not mush
- Ground cinnamon - goes into the whipped cream and makes the whole thing taste intentional
How to Make Snickerdoodle Banana Pudding
- Make the caramel first and let it cool completely. Combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once it's boiling, put the spoon down and leave it alone. Watch for the color to shift from clear to a deep golden amber, then remove from heat and slowly whisk in the warm cream. Add the butter, vanilla, and salt. Transfer to a bowl and let it cool fully before you do anything else. It will thicken as it sits. Reserve ⅓ cup for the top.
- Make the pudding base. Whisk together the cold milk and sweetened condensed milk. Sprinkle in the pudding mix and whisk by hand for 2 to 3 minutes until smooth. Use a hand whisk, not a hand mixer - the mixer will make it gluey and strange. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes to thicken.
- Make the cinnamon whipped cream. Beat the heavy cream, cinnamon, and vanilla until stiff peaks form. If you overbeat it and it looks grainy, add a splash of cream and gently fold it back together. It will be fine.
- Fold the whipped cream into the pudding. Gently, with a rubber spatula. Then refrigerate for one hour.
- Assemble. Layer pudding, whole cookies, sliced bananas, and a drizzle of caramel. Repeat two or three times. Finish with a layer of pudding that fully covers and seals the edges - this keeps the cookies from drying out.
- Wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, up to 24. This is not optional. The overnight rest is what turns it from a bowl of things into an actual cohesive dessert.
Common Mistakes - Snickerdoodle Banana Pudding
- Stirring the caramel after it boils. This causes crystallization. The caramel becomes grainy and the whole thing feels unfair. Just watch it and leave it alone.
- Using cold cream in the caramel. Warm it in the microwave first. One minute. That's all it takes to avoid a seizing situation.
- Using a hand mixer for the pudding base. It will get clumpy and uneven. A regular whisk and a little patience is the right move here.
- Not letting the caramel cool before assembling. Warm caramel will melt the whipped cream and make everything soupy. Cool it completely.
- Skimping on the chill time. Six hours minimum. Overnight is better. The cookies need time to soften into the pudding and the whole thing needs time to become itself.
- Not sealing the edges with the final pudding layer. Exposed cookies dry out and get strange. Cover everything.
What Kind of Cookies to Use
The cookies matter more than you think. For Snickerdoodle Banana Pudding, you want a snickerdoodle shortbread that is thin and crunchy, not soft and cakey. A soft cookie will disintegrate too fast and turn the layers into a uniform beige situation, which is not what anyone signed up for. I used Tate's Bake Shop snickerdoodle cookies, which are thin, crisp, and do exactly what you need them to do. That said, feel free to use whatever crunchy snickerdoodle shortbread you can find - the important thing is that they are crunchy going in, so they have somewhere to go during the chill time.
Make Ahead
This dessert was essentially designed to be made ahead, so lean into it. Make the caramel the day before. Make the pudding, assemble the whole thing, wrap it tight, and put it in the refrigerator overnight. When you pull it out the next day it will be set, cohesive, and significantly better than it was the moment you assembled it. The cookies will have softened into the layers, the caramel will have settled in, and the whole dessert will have figured out what it wants to be. Plan for at least 6 hours in the fridge, and up to 24.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I use homemade pudding instead of instant? Yes, but make sure it is fully cooled before you fold in the whipped cream, or you will deflate the whole thing and lose the texture.
- Can I make this without the caramel? You can, but the caramel is genuinely what makes Snickerdoodle Banana Pudding taste like itself and not just regular banana pudding. It is worth the effort.
- My caramel seized up and got grainy. What happened? Most likely it was stirred after it came to a boil, or the cream was added cold. It happens. If it is very grainy, start over - a broken caramel is hard to recover and not worth the frustration.
- Can I use a different cookie? Yes. Any thin, crunchy shortbread will work. Just avoid soft cookies or anything with a strong competing flavor. The snickerdoodle and cinnamon notes are what make this recipe what it is.
- How far in advance can I make this? Up to 24 hours ahead is ideal. Beyond that the bananas start to soften more than you want.
- Can I make individual servings instead of one large dish? Absolutely. Individual cups or glasses work great and make serving much easier, especially for a party.
Storing and Freezing
Storing: Snickerdoodle Banana Pudding keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, covered tightly with plastic wrap. After day three the bananas start to turn and the cookies get a little too soft, so plan accordingly. If you are making it for an event, the day-before window is your sweet spot.
Freezing: Freezing is technically possible but not something I would recommend for this particular dessert. The bananas do not hold up well to freezing and thawing, and the texture of the whipped cream changes in a way that is not pleasant. If you want to get ahead, make the caramel sauce in advance and freeze that separately - it freezes beautifully and keeps for up to three months. Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and warm gently before using.
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Recipe
Snickerdoodle Banana Pudding
Ingredients
For the Caramel Sauce (Do First):
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter added to the caramel at the end
For the pudding
- 5.1 ounce package instant vanilla pudding mix the larger box
- 2 cups cold milk
- 1 can 13.4oz sweetened condensed milk
- 2 bags snickerdoodle short bread cookies, I liked tate cookies. Set aside 3 cookies for the top!
- 6 to 8 bananas sliced
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Caramel Sauce:
- In a medium saucepan, combine the water, sugar, and corn syrup, stirring with a small rubber spatula just until the sugar is evenly moistened.1 cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup water, 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
- Place over medium heat and cook until the mixture comes to a boil. Once on the heat DO NOT STIR. That will cause crystallization and make for a grainy caramel.
- Let the syrup continue to cook, undisturbed, until it shifts from clear to a deep golden amber color! At first, you'll notice the bubbles are small and fast as it start to caramelize the bubble become thicker and slower. It takes a few minutes to start changing colors and once it does change colors, it can go from perfect to burnt very quickly.
- While the caramel cooks, microwave the heavy cream for about 1 minute until it's warm to the touch (this helps prevent the caramel from seizing).¾ cup heavy cream
- Once the caramel reaches that rich golden color, remove it from the heat and very slowly pour in the warm cream while whisking constantly. The mixture will bubble up aggressively at first this is normal.
- Add the butter, vanilla, and salt, then continue whisking until the caramel is smooth, glossy, and fully combined. Transfer to a bowl and let it cool slightly. it will thicken as it sits. Let it completely cool before you make the banana pudding.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon unsalted butter added to the caramel at the end
For Banana Pudding
- In a large bowl, add the cold milk, sweetened condensed milk and mix. The mixture will be slightly clumpy and thin. That's okay. Sprinkle vanilla pudding mixture over the top. Whisk together until smooth. This will take 2-3 minutes. I prefer a hand whisk not a hand mixer because it will get clumpy. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes to thicken up. While it sets, beat the heavy whipping cream.5.1 ounce package instant vanilla pudding mix, 2 cups cold milk, 1 can
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or using a handheld mixer add the heavy cream, ground cinnamon and vanilla extract. Beat until stiff peaks form to make whipped cream. If you over beat and it looks grainy, add a tablespoon or two of heavy cream and gently mix to smooth it out.2 cups heavy cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the whipped cream into the pudding mixture. Set aside in the fridge for 1 hour.
- To assemble, you can use individual cups, a large casserole dish, or a trifle bowl. Start with a layer of pudding on the bottom, then add a neat layer of whole cookies, followed by a layer of sliced bananas followed by a generous drizzle of the cooled caramel. (SAVE ⅓ cup CARAMEL FOR THE GARNISH) Repeat until you have 2-3 layers total. Finish with a final layer of pudding that fully covers everything, making sure to seal the edges so the cookies don't dry out.2 bags, 6 to 8 bananas
- Gently wrap with plastic wrap and allow it to sit on the fridge for at least 6 and up to 24 hours to soften up.
Serving
- Once you are ready to serve, unwrap the plastic wrap from the banana pudding, drizzle the remaining caramel on top. Top with the reserved cookies, and top with the extra banana sliced
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