Butter Brickle Banana Cream Pie

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Roll out the dough and fit it into a 9-inch pie pan. Trim and flute the edges, then bake the pie shell fully. Cool completely before filling.

To make the butter brickle, line a shallow baking pan with foil. Combine the sugar, butter and almonds in a large skillet. Place over medium-high heat and cook, stirring almost constantly, until the bubbling mixture turns golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Pour into the foil-lined pan and cool completely; it will harden as it cools. Break the butter brickle into pieces and chop coarsely in a food processor. Set aside.

To make the filling, in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Pour in the milk and whisk until smooth. Place over moderate heat and cook, whisking almost constantly, until the mixture boils.

Cook, whisking constantly, for about 2 minutes. Then whisk in the egg yolks. Bring the mixture back to a boil, reduce the heat and cook for 1 minute more. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Set aside to cool for about 20 minutes, stirring 2 or 3 times.

To assemble the pie, spread about 1/2 cup of the chopped butter brickle in the baked pie shell. Peel the bananas and slice them about 1/4-inch thick, placing the slices over the butter brickle as you work.

Cover the bananas with the filling and cool to room temperature. Sprinkle the filling with another 1/2 cup of the butter brickle.

Prepare the whipped cream and spread it over the pie. Sprinkle with the remaining butter brickle.

Refrigerate until ready to serve. This pie is particularly good served within a couple of hours. If you need to wait longer, the brickle will gradually soften but will not lose its flavor.

Recipe Source: "Pie Pie Pie" by John Phillip Carroll