Luscious peanut butter pie (Print version)

Creamy peanut butter filling nestled in a crunchy chocolate cookie crust, chilled and ready.

# What You'll Need:

→ Crust

01 - 20 chocolate sandwich cookies, finely crushed
02 - 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

→ Filling

03 - 1 cup creamy peanut butter
04 - 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
05 - 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
06 - 1 cup heavy cream, cold
07 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
08 - Pinch of salt

→ Topping (optional)

09 - 1/4 cup heavy cream
10 - 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
11 - Roasted peanuts or chocolate shavings for garnish

# How to Make:

01 - Mix crushed chocolate cookies with melted butter until combined. Press firmly and evenly into bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie dish. Refrigerate while preparing filling.
02 - Beat peanut butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth and creamy in a large bowl.
03 - Whip cold heavy cream to stiff peaks in a separate bowl.
04 - Gently fold whipped cream into peanut butter mixture until fully combined and airy.
05 - Spread filling evenly over chilled crust and smooth top with spatula.
06 - Heat 1/4 cup heavy cream until just simmering. Pour over chocolate chips, let sit for one minute, then stir until smooth. Drizzle over pie.
07 - Add roasted peanuts or chocolate shavings as desired.
08 - Refrigerate pie for at least 4 hours until set. Slice and serve cold.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It tastes like you fussed for hours but actually takes twenty minutes of hands-on time.
  • No oven required, which means your kitchen stays cool and you can make it in the middle of a hot day.
  • It's forgiving enough to prepare a day or two ahead, so you can relax when guests arrive.
  • The texture is impossibly creamy without being heavy, thanks to the whipped cream folded through.
02 -
  • Don't skip softening your cream cheese or you'll spend forever trying to beat out lumps; take it out of the fridge thirty minutes before you start.
  • The whipped cream is what makes this pie light instead of dense, so whip it to stiff peaks but stop the moment it gets there or you're making peanut butter butter.
  • If your filling looks separated or broken after folding, you probably folded too aggressively or the cream cheese was still too cold; start over if you can.
03 -
  • If you're nervous about the folding step, remember that a few streaks of whipped cream are better than a deflated, dense filling—it's okay if it's not perfectly uniform.
  • Warm your knife under hot water and wipe it clean between slices so you get clean cuts instead of a messy pie with a chocolate-smeared crust.
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