Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

This chocolate peanut butter pie was inspired by a yummy slice we had around thanksgiving from a local bakery. Theirs had a graham crust, a soft ganache and a peanut butter mousse. Their recipe isn’t available but I kind of wanted to do it my way anyway (with brown butter!). 

Recipe Origins

First, the chocolate crust: a sweet tart dough made with cocoa that’s really easy to whip up – you can use a hand mixer or a food processor. It’s like a really good crumbly, chocolate cookie and is the perfect shell for all the good things going inside.

Then, the ganache! Oh this ganache. There’s a thing about brown butter, besides its magical taste; when combined with certain other ingredients you can’t always taste it. Here you can, it has the benefit of not being cooked with anything else and pairs wonderfully with the dense, dark ganache and accentuates the ‘nuttiness’ of the mousse.

Finally, the creamy peanut butter topping! It might be my favorite part (and I’m a chocolate lover at heart) but the salty intensity of the peanut butter, combined with tangy cream cheese and whipped up with a fluff of heavy cream makes this mousse so smooth and irresistible.

Recipe Ingredients 

Butter: We need unsalted butter for the crust (softened) and some for the ganache (browned). In the crust it is essential to make a flaky pastry. The browned butter in the ganache adds another dimension to the dark chocolate taste that is really wonderful.

Chocolate: This is for the ganache, give some thought to the type of chocolate you use: if you like very dark chocolates that aren’t sweet, opt for that in the ganache. If you like some sweet-ness then semi-sweet. Avoid chocolates that are less than 45% cocoa solids as that will be venturing into milk chocolate, and will throw off the balance of heavy cream to chocolate.

Heavy Cream: Heavy cream and heavy whipping cream are essentially the same thing and either will do.

Peanut Butter: Any generic brand. I’d avoid a natural peanut butter that tends to separate (needs to be stirred) for this mousse like jif or skippy. If you need to substitute for allergy reasons I’d use cashew or sunbutter (again, use one that doesn’t need stirring).

Egg yolk: We just need one to help bind together the crust. Here’s what you can do with that leftover egg white.

Flour: All-Purpose flour. If you want to make this a flourless chocolate peanut butter pie you can use a 1 to 1 substitute gluten-free flour blend.

Powdered Sugar: Check the label, is it made with tapioca or cornstarch? Tapioca is best because it melts on the tongue. Sift the powdered sugar before using it if it’s lumpy.

Cream cheese: One package and take it out a few hours beforehand to ensure its nice and soft to be beaten in with the peanut butter.

Cocoa: I like a dutch- process cocoa because it’s deeper in taste but any will do (even black!)

How to make Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

The Crust

You can use either a pie pan or a tart pan with a removable bottom. 

Make the crust in a food processor, with a stand or hand mixer.  Don’t have either, you can do this by hand using your fingers to break up the butter (I’d start by slicing the butter and then working it into the flour and cocoa by pressing it, like you would a pie crust).

Add the dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk:

Add the the softened butter, blend until it’s in bits then add the yolk and blend again. If the dough is dry, add 2 tablespoons whole milk. 

Once you can pinch the dough together with your fingers and it holds shape it’s ready to be pressed into the pan. 

Use a 8 or 9″ tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the crust crumbs in, half an inch up the sides and tightly on the bottom. Then chill it in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.

Why chill the crust? Chilling helps the crust keep shape in the oven.

Then place a sheet of parchment over the chilled crust, and add some pie weights or dried beans. They don’t have to go all the way up, just enough to hold down the bottom.

Once it partially bakes you can remove the parchment and weights and then dock it with a fork, as pictured. 

Then return it to the oven for the remainder of the bake. When it’s done, chill it so it’s ready for the ganache.

The Filling 

While the crust is chilling, we’ll make the ganache. 

I usually brown the butter early on and have it chilling in the fridge before I make the ganache. If you pour hot butter on the chocolate it will raise the temperature too quickly and burn the chocolate. So first, brown and chill the butter. 

Warm the heavy cream. 

Pour the (cooled, browned) melted butter both over the chocolate and the warm heavy cream. 

Stir it until you have a smooth ganache, then pour into the chilled crust.

The ganache also needs some time to chill and firm up. If you put mousse on warm ganache it will melt it.

The Topping

The mouse here starts with softened cream cheese, peanut butter, powdered sugar. Mix them together with the paddle attachment. 

Once those are mixed in well together we’ll add the heavy cream and sugar whip the mix with the whisk attachment until it’s fluffy. 

Then the mousse goes on top of the ganache. It may seem too creamy at first but it will firm up as it chills and sets. 

FAQ

Can this pie be made ahead of time?

Absolutely. This is a great make ahead dessert as it keeps nicely in the fridge for days. My preference is to make the peanut butter mousse the morning of the day you’ll serve it (some bits of it can get gummy when exposed to the humidity in a fridge) but if you have a big enough container for the whole pie it won’t matter.

Can I make the crust with ground oreos instead? 

Yes – follow the oreo crust recipe from this no bake chocolate cheesecake recipe. The oreo cookies will need to have the fililng removed before grinding. Here’s a photo from when I made it with oreo crust: 

Why are the ganache ingredients only in grams?

Because they need to be precise in order for you to achieve the right texture. Too much heavy cream will lead to a too soft ganache and it’s a delicate balance. Using the scale here is necessary.

Topping the pie 

In some of the photos you’ll see I shaved a chocolate bar to get little bits (use a vegetable peeler) and in some you’ll see chopped peanut butter cups. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie Recipe

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