DIY: Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

If you want something easy to make with incredible results, this is a can't-miss dessert. It tastes like a giant Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. At our place, it's a staple for my daughter's birthday. I adapted the recipe from the Silver Palate Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins (where it's known as Candace's Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie), meaning it pretty much comes from them but I make the crust chewier, the filling creamier and the topping chocolatier.

Ingredients

Crust
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Filling
12 oz cream cheese
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups heavy cream

Topping
4 oz good dark chocolate
1/2-1 cup of heavy cream


Make It:

Crust

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar. Spread the mixture out on the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes at 350. Set aside to cool.

Filling

Combine the cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar and one cup of heavy cream in a large bowl until well blended (it works better if the cream cheese has been allowed to come to room temperature). Whip one cup of heavy cream until stiff and fold it into the cream cheese-peanut butter mixture. Pour this mixture into the cool pie crust.

Topping

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Slowly add the heavy cream to form a ganache, adding only a little at a time and stirring to make sure the cream is completely mixed and forms a ganache. Do this until the mixture has the consistency of chocolate syrup, you don't want it to get watery. Take the mixture out of the boiler and let it cool but not harden. When it is room temperature but still liquid, pour the chocolate over the pie.

Refrigerate the pie overnight and enjoy!