Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie

This post is sponsored by the National Peanut Board. I received compensation, but all opinions and content are my own.

Wowza, peeps: am I ever excited to share this peanut butter chocolate pie recipe with you. As some of you may know, in my world there is no better flavor combo than that of peanut butter and chocolate. Yes, chocolate peanut butter cups are my favorite candy, and yes I buy myself a bag of mini ones every Halloween (to eat by myself, mind you, no sharing with trick or treaters (or my children)). But I have also been known to eat spoonfuls of peanut butter straight from the jar, while leaning against the fridge, sprinkling a semisweet chocolate chip or two over each spoonful before consuming.

Thus, being offered the opportunity to create a recipe for a peanut butter chocolate pie by the National Peanut Board was nothing short of a gift from the PB Gods. And because my love of peanut butter runs so deep (yes, I love it with chocolate as explained above, but I also love it spread on a warm buttered English muffin, or in a PB&J sandwich on fluffy potato bread, or in a banana coconut smoothie), I knew the pie I developed would be no ordinary peanut butter chocolate pie, but one with an uber peanut-butter-forward vibe.

To do so, I developed a peanut butter crust, that not only calls for creamy peanut butter, in place of some of the butter, but also a couple of tablespoons of chopped salted peanuts, for a little texture and to amp up the peanut flavor. Filling said crust with my smooth dark chocolate pudding might have been enough to get that peanut butter chocolate feeling I was after. But I topped it all in copious amounts of billowy peanut butter whipped cream and a generous sprinkling of chopped salted peanuts, for good measure.

To say the resultant pie is what peanut butter lovers’ dreams are made of, would not be an understatement. While this pie is definitely a treat, the star ingredient (one of my all-time favorite ingredients; yes, peanut butter, I’m talking about you) contains protein, fiber (8% of the daily value) and unsaturated fat.

The pie is also a breeze to make.

Yes, the crust can be just a tad finicky, due to the inclusion of peanut butter, but as long as you freeze your peanut butter, before adding it to the rest of your ingredients, it mostly acts very much like butter does in a piecrust. The dough may crack a bit more than you are used to when you roll it out, but merely smoosh any developing cracks with your fingers and you will be fine. Trust me.

The pudding is beyond easy peasy and does not call for eggs, removing the need to strain the pudding, due to mistakenly curdled egg bits. And peanut butter whipped cream, if you have not yet had the pleasure of tasting it, is not only easy, but so delicious, that you might find yourself licking the bowl clean, while quietly whispering to yourself – in utter disbelief at your good fortune – “and it’s actually good for me, too.”

Hoping you will take a stab at this pie, sooner rather than later, but also would love to know how you like to bake with peanut butter. Please let me know in the comments and please head here to check out more PB centric recipes, both sweet, and savory!

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5 from 1 vote

Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie

Recipe Author Jessie Sheehan

Ingredients

• For the peanut butter pie dough
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter not all-natural
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp light brown sugar
• 1 ⁄8 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp table salt
• 2 Tbsp salted peanuts finely chopped
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter cold
• 3 Tbsp ice water more as needed
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar chilled
• For the egg wash
• 1 large egg
• Pinch of table salt
• For the chocolate pudding filling
• 1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp table salt
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• For the peanut butter whipped cream
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 6 Tbsp sweetened creamy peanut butter not all natural
• 6 Tbsp confectioners’ sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• Roughly chopped salted peanuts for sprinkling before serving

Instructions

• To make the crust, place the peanut butter in the freezer, for at least two hours, or more, until frozen. Combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and chopped peanuts in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process to combine. Cut the butter and frozen peanut butter into cubes, add to the food processor, and pulse until the mixture includes a combination of coarse crumbs and some larger bits of butter and peanut butter.
• Dump the mixture into a large bowl, add the water and vinegar and mix with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together, adding a bit more water, a teaspoon at a time, if necessary. Using your hands, knead the dough in the bowl to incorporate all of the crumbly bits, shape into a large flat disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Lightly flour a work surface and roll the dough into an 11 or 12-inch circle, and place it into a 9-in [23-cm] pie plate. Decoratively crimp the edges. Freeze for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 425° F [220°C].
• Line the piecrust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights (uncooked brown rice or dried beans work). Combine the egg and salt in a small bowl to make an egg wash and brush it on the crimped edges.
• Bake the crust for about 20 minutes, until the crimped edges are brown and the bottom of the crust looks dry when you gently lift the parchment paper. Remove the paper and weights and using the tines of a fork, prick the bottom of the crust all over. Return the crust to the oven until the bottom is nicely browned, about 15-20 minutes more. Remove from the oven and brush the bottom with egg wash to seal it (this helps prevent a soggy bottom). Place in the oven for two minutes, until the egg sets. Set aside to cool.
• To make the chocolate filling, in a medium heatproof saucepan, add the cocoa powder, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt and whisk together. Add the milk and heavy cream and whisk again.
• Over medium-to medium-high heat, whisk the pudding until it thickens and large bubbles begin popping up on the surface, 5 to 7 minutes. Continue whisking for 1 to 2 minutes more, before removing the saucepan from the heat. Add the vanilla and chocolate and whisk to melt the chocolate.
• Transfer the pudding to the piecrust, cover the surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate to set up, about 4 - 6 hours, but preferably overnight.
• To make the peanut butter whipped cream, combine all of the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, and using a hand held mixer, and whisk the cream until medium peaks form.
• Generously spread the cream over the cool and firm pudding and place in the refrigerator to set up briefly before serving, about 30 minutes. Serve slices sprinkled with chopped salted peanuts.