Every year at Beau’s birthday, it’s the same back-and-forth dilemma over what to make for dessert. He is so picky and doesn’t really care for sweets, so what to do? Last year’s Guinness cake went over really well, but I didn’t want to repeat the same thing. He mentioned maybe the peanut butter pudding pie I had made before, the one that ended with 911 being called after cutting through the crust caused me to stab myself in the wrist with a chef’s knife (so ridiculous). I’m not too superstitious, but that just sounded like a bad idea, bad juju. No, it would have to be something new. Something with peanut butter and chocolate, like before, but new.
So, I decided on what is essentially a no-bake peanut butter cheesecake in a chocolate crust. To dress it up I topped it with drizzled melted chocolate and chopped toasted peanuts. It took maybe thirty minutes to assemble, which was good because I was in a hurry that day. Even better was the fact that there were no accidents with knives. And the best part of all was that the birthday boy loved his birthday pie. A lot. (And so did the rest of us.)
Peanut Butter Pie
This will make you want a tall, cold glass of milk. Everyone who had a piece loved it. Highly recommended. The only thing is that it is extremely rich, so just a sliver will do ya, which meant we were still eating this nearly a week later. Also, please keep in mind that once made, the pie needs to firm up in the fridge, so make sure to allow at least a few hours for that. I would like to note that I didn’t use ganache to drizzle on top, but melted chocolate (because I was in a rush), which I do not recommend. Melted chocolate firms up too much when chilled, making it too hard to cut into/serve.
Ingredients
2 cups chocolate wafer cookies
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
8 ounces cream cheese (I used neufchatel), softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
Pinch of salt
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
About 1/2 cup cream, as needed
Chopped toasted peanuts for garnish
Chocolate ganache for drizzling (this recipe would work well)
Directions
Heat oven to 350F.
In a food processor, pulse cookies until you have coarse crumbs. Drizzle melted butter and sugar over the cookies. Process again until fine crumbs form, and the mixture is well blended. Press into a 9″ pie plate and bake about 10 minutes, then let cool completely. The crust will firm as it cools.
In a stand mixer, or using a hand-held electric beaters, beat together the peanut butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and salt until mixed. Add confectioners’ sugar and mix again. The mixture will look really crumbly and dry; don’t worry. Drizzle in cream while mixing on low until the mixture is smooth and cohesive. Spread into cookie crust. Drizzle on chocolate ganache decoratively, and sprinkle with chopped peanuts. Chill at least 3-4 hours before serving.
