Incredible Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache Pie

  • Incredible Peanut

    Do you ever stumble upon a recipe and think “I so must make this”, and then the recipe gets buried under the piles of other recipes you think “I so must make this recipe, too”?  But every now and then you leaf through your “I so must make these recipes” file and you’re reminded of what made you fall in love with the recipe in the first place?  That’s what happened to me with this chocolate peanut butter pie.  (Note- this question apples equally to the computer, where my bookmarked recipe list is none too tiny these days.  I just happen to like hard copy pictures of desserts, so I might always have clippings of brownies and pies and cakes and cobblers.  And another file of cool kitchen designs, but I’m deviating from the point.)

    Flash back to 2006… I was on a plane, leafing through Food & Wine magazine, when this pie slapped me in the face.  I promptly ripped the recipe out, and did nothing with it for 7 years- except flip by it in my binder of recipes every 6 months ago or so, knowing that the right day would come.  Yeah well, the day did come.

    All you need to know is this: chocolate graham cracker crust with a bit of peanut butter for good measure, peanut butter cream cheese filling, rich chocolate ganache topping.  Oh- and a few toasted peanuts just because.  And yes, there is whipped cream in the pie to “lighten it up” (don’t laugh at that ridiculousness).  All I can say is that this pie will not have to wait 7 years before making an appearance again.  Go forth, Reece’s lovers, and make one today.

     

    Adapted from Food & Wine’s recipe…

    PEANUT BUTTER GRAHAM-CRACKER CRUST:
    1 cup graham cracker crumbs
    1/4 cup sugar
    1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
    3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
    1 – 2 tablespoons milk
    PEANUT BUTTER FILLING:
    8 ounces cream cheese, softened (1 cup)
    1 cup chunky peanut butter
    1/2 cup sugar
    2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
    1 cup well-chilled heavy cream
    1/2 cup salted roasted peanuts, chopped
    Dash of salt
    CHOCOLATE GANACHE TOPPING:
    4 oz. bittersweet chocolate
    1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

    1. Preheat oven to 375°, and butter a 9″ deep-dish pie plate (or springform pan).
    2. CRUST:  In a food processor, whirl graham cracker crumbs, sugar and cocoa powder together. Add peanut butter until thoroughly combined, then add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until mixture is still sandy but sticks together.  (You can use a stand mixer/ hand mixer instead, or even do by hand like in the olden days.)
    3. Press mixture evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the buttered pie plate, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
    4. FILLING:  In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with the peanut butter, sugar and vanilla extract until combined.
    5. In another large bowl, whip the heavy cream until firm peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture, then fold in the remaining whipped cream. Spread the filling into the crust, smoothing the surface. Sprinkle lightly with salt and refrigerate until set, about 3 hours.
    6. GANACHE TOPPING:  In a small saucepan, bring heavy cream to almost a boil and pour over chocolate in a medium bowl. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, then stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Allow to cool until almost room temperature, stirring occasionally.
    7. Spread the chocolate ganache topping over the peanut butter filling, sprinkle chopped peanuts around the edge of the pie, and refrigerate until just firm, about 15 minutes. Using a sharp knife, cut the pie into wedges. Run the knife under hot water and dry it between each cut. Keep leftover pieces refrigerated.

    Tips:

    • Want a chocolate crust?  Just use chocolate wafer crumbs instead of the graham cracker crumbs.  Very good idea indeed.
    • If you’d like more crunch in your life, use chunky peanut butter or add chopped peanuts to the filling before spreading.
    • Toast the peanuts for more flavor (not that this recipe is short on flavor, mind you).  Stick on a pan into your preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes or so… chop before baking.
    • Ganache chocolate options can include semi-sweet, or dark… I used a rich, dark chocolate for this recipe because I was making it as a birthday treat for a dark chocolate fiend.  Your call.
    • Yes, you can freeze this… thaw in the fridge before indulging.
    • Enjoy!

     

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    May 11th, 2013 | More Sweets Please | 4 Comments | Tags: , ,

4 Responses and Counting...

  • Jon 05.11.2013

    Awesome!!!!!

  • More Sweets Please

    Peanut butter + chocolate never disappoints, does it?! Glad you like this one. :)

  • Stella

    Hi,
    We’ve recently launched the website RecipesUS.com. It’s a search engine that aims to gather all the best recipes from US websites and blogs in one place. We’ve noticed that you have a lot of great looking recipes on your blog that we would love to feature on our site. To read more about how it all works and to sign up with your blog, please visit: http://recipesus.com or send us an email on info@recipesus.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

    Kind regards,
    Stella

  • More Sweets Please

    Hi Stella, I’m happy to have my recipes featured on your site- I’ll reach out to you soon! In the meantime… enjoy the pie. :)

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