When you combine chocolate-cream cookies, fragrant butter, lots of peanut butter and whipped cream with cream cheese, and heavy chocolate ganache -- plus chopped peanutty chocolate bars and things -- what could possibly go wrong?
The salty-sweetness of peanut butter makes it exceptional in desserts and savory dishes alike -- and in the case of this particular creation, it is the LIFE of the pie -- backed by a crumbly oreo-butter crust, and topped with a chocolate ganache and tidbits of chocolate shavings and what-not, this pie is filled with a goopy thick layer of peanutty-cheesecakey-cream thats just the right amount of sweet, with a teeny tang of salt. It all comes together in about 15 minutes, it sets in about 2 hours and is truly a wonderful dessert to prepare over night or a few hours before guests visit. Did i mention this is also a no-bake recipe?
As a general concept, cookie-crusts can be filled with anything. They can also be made from other flavors of cookie -- while I used oreos here, you can go right ahead and try this with digestives or any other cookie that crumbles. Your basic formula is to crush those cookies in a blender and add enough melted butter to make it stick together and set semi-hard -- now, this amazing crust can be filled with just about anything. If you're not into peanut butter, try anything else --- Nutella or your favorite chocolate cream; bananas and caramel, jelly, etc. Experiment as you will; i'm certain it'll be delicious.
Ahhh one last thing before jumping to the recipe -- the paw in the picture above belongs to the hubby. Must give credit where credit is due -- thanks for modeling for me, honey :)
Ingredients:
For the crust:
20 Oreo Cookies
1/2 cup melted butter
For the filling:
1 cup creamy peanut butter (crunchy works too)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup cream cheese
3/4 cup powdered sugar
generous pinch of salt
For the topping:
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, heated to hot
350g milk or dark chocolate
Chocolate shavings (optional)
Peanut butter chips (optional)
Chopped snickers bars (optional)
Method:
For the cookie crust:
In a blender, crush cookies until completely crumbled. Add melted butter to blender and give it a final few blitzes until the ingredients start to clump together.
Press crust into a pie-dish (i love the ones with a detachable bottom), making sure to press into the sides as well. Even out, and leave in the fridge to set while we prepare the crust.
For the filling:
In the same blender, add peanut butter, cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and salt. Blend until smooth and thick.
Pour peanut butter cream onto prepared pie crust, and spread out with a spatular. It should be thick and rather goopy. Even out the filling, and leave to set in the fridge.
For the Ganache:
In a bowl, pour hot cream over chocolate (a microwave at 30 second bursts can also help with this process) and keep stirring until the chocolate is dissolved and incorporated into the cream. You should have a semi-thick, glossy ganache within a few minutes.
Pour ganache over the peanut butter pie, and spread out with a spatula until it covers the whole pie. Add your toppings here if you wish, and leave pie to set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Serve cold and enjoy!
