Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Friday was my husband, Josh’s birthday! He loves all things peanut butter and chocolate, so I made him a chocolate peanut butter pie for his birthday dessert. The weekend was packed with other parties and cooking/prep work, so I simplified an Alton Brown recipe since I was short on time. This turned out really good; it tasted like a giant Reese’s peanut butter cup!

I went with a store-bought chocolate crust this time (I had no idea they made these!). I try to avoid store-bought whenever possible because it always tastes better when homemade, but the crust was actually pretty good. It was easy to use and didn’t require a blind bake either.

For the peanut butter mixture, I used Jiffy creamy peanut butter. (Alton has you making your own peanut butter from scratch, which I’m sure is delicious, but time consuming. Another time!) I mixed peanut butter with unsalted butter in the food processor and then added in powdered sugar and vanilla bean paste. This mixture was poured into my pie crust and then baked at 350 for 10 minutes.

Once the pie was finished cooking, I heated heavy whipping cream in the microwave very briefly (30 seconds) and then poured chocolate chunks in to melt. After it sat for two minutes, it was melted enough that I was able to whisk the mixture into a smooth ganache topping. I poured the chocolate mixture evenly over the peanut butter layer and placed it in the fridge overnight. [Note: it only needs to sit for an hour and a half in the fridge before eating. The longer it sits in the fridge, the more prone to cracking. Mine had a big crack the next day, but we were enjoying it ourselves, so appearance didn’t matter. If I were taking it somewhere, I would try to make it the day of!]

Recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
Adapted from the kitchen of Alton Brown

Ingredients:
1 9-inch chocolate pie crust
4 Tbsp unsalted, sweet butter
1 ½ c creamy peanut butter
3 oz powdered sugar (I measured mine out by Tbsp with a food scale)
1 tsp vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)
¼ c heavy whipping cream
2 oz German sweet chocolate baking bar, cut into smaller pieces

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place the peanut butter and butter in a food processor. Pulse for 1 minute, then add the powdered sugar and vanilla and process for another 2 minutes. Once smooth, pour the mixture into a chocolate pie crust and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool, while you prepare the topping.

Put the heavy whipping cream in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Add the chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes. Gently whisk the chocolate with the cream for 2 to 3 minutes, until smooth. Spread the mixture over the pie and place in refrigerator for 1 ½ hours before serving. Enjoy!