My mom, sister, and I are starting to plan for the most glorious meal of the year. I naturally gravitate towards desserts, so I’m trying out a few sweet options these next two weeks. Today I made a double-chocolate peanut butter pie. This pie is luxurious. It begins with a chocolate cookie crust that is filled with a sweet peanut butter cream, and then covered in a semi-sweet chocolate ganache. I found Vitaly Paley’s recipe for it in a 2007 issue of Food & Wine Magazine. The practically-no-bake pie is reminiscent of a peanut butter cup. Needless to say, this has made the cut for my Thanksgiving dessert table.
Okay, so let’s get to it. In a food processor, pulse the chocolate cookies until they become fine crumbs, and then mix in a concoction of melted butter and melted chocolate.
Press the chocolate crumbs into a springform pan and bake for 20 minutes in a 375 degree F. oven.
Now to make the filling. Using a hand-held mixer, mix together the peanut butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract, and sugar . Fold in whipped cream, and chopped peanuts.
Pour the peanut butter filling into the springform pan, sprinkle the top with a little sea salt, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight to set.
Make chocolate ganache (see this post for help if needed) and pour over the chilled pie. Sprinkle the perimeter with the remaining chopped peanuts. Refrigerate to set the ganache for at least 15 minutes.
When ready to serve, use a sharp knife to cut between the sides of the springform pan and the cookie crust. Gently unmold the pie, place on a serving plate, slice up, and enjoy!
- 2 cups (8oz or 227 g) Chocolate Wafer Cookies
- 1/2 stick (56 g) Unsalted Butter
- 1/2 cup (4oz or 113 g) Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped or in chip form
- 1 cup Chunky Peanut Butter
- 1 cup (8oz or 227 g) Cream Cheese
- 1/2 cup (100 g) Sugar
- 2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Heavy Cream, cold
- 1/2 cup (60 g) Roasted Salted Peanuts, chopped
- Coarse Sea Salt
- 1/2 cup (4oz or 113 g) Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped or in chip form
- 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
- 1/4 cup (30 g) Salted, Roasted Peanuts, chopped
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a food processor, pulse the chocolate wafer cookies until they become fine crumbs. Dump the crumbs in a large bowl, and set aside.
- Melt together the chopped chocolate and butter in a heat proof bowl that has been placed over a saucepan with simmering water. Once fully melted and combined, remove the chocolate/butter mixture from the heat and pour over the cookie crumbs. Stir to together.
- Press the cookie crumb mixture onto the bottom of a springform pan, making sure to go an inch and a half up the sides. Place the springform pan on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Once baked, set the cookie crust aside until fully cooled. The crust will firm up during this time.
- Using a handheld mixer, mix together the cream cheese, peanut butter, vanilla extract, and sugar until combined.
- In another bowl connected to a standing mixer and fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
- Fold half of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture to lighten it. Then, fold the remaining whipped cream in. Finally, fold in ½ cup of the chopped peanuts.
- Pour the peanut butter filling onto the cookie crust. Smooth out the surface, and sprinkle a little sea salt over the top, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight to set.
- Place your chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. In a saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let sit for one minute. Finally stir the chocolate/cream until it becomes smooth and glossy (about 2 minutes). Set aside to cool, stirring occasionally.
- Once the ganache is barely warm, pour it over the peanut butter filling. Tilt the springform pan to help the ganache cover the entire top. Sprinkle the remaining chopped peanuts around the edge of the pie, and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to harden the ganache.
- When ready to serve, heat a sharp knife in hot water, dry it off, and cut around the perimeter to loosen the sides from the springform pan. Enjoy!
- 9-inch springform pan
- Rubber spatula
- Handheld mixer
- Standing mixer with whisk attachment
- Off-set spatula
