One bite of this chocolate peanut butter pie and you’ll be in love! The crunchy Oreo crust, smooth chocolate ganache and luscious peanut butter cream cheese filling pair together perfectly in this easy no-bake pie.
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Overview of this Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
Taste: Like a giant Reese’s peanut butter cup, except 10 times richer and better.
Texture: Crunchy crust coupled with a smooth ganache and luscious peanut butter cream cheese filling.
Ease: This pie is literally easy as pie!
No-bake: This dessert is perfect for those hot summer days when you don’t want to turn on the oven.
Time: You will need to be patient with this pie since it needs at least 6 hours in the fridge to set.
Make ahead: Make this pie up to 2 days in advance; cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Or freeze, well covered, up to 1 month.
The process
For the crust: Mix the crushed Oreos and melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 9 or 10-inch springform pan. Then place it in the freezer to let it set. If you don’t have a springform pan, this Wilton springform pan is a good option.
For the chocolate ganache: Heat the cream until it almost reaches boiling point. Once you see bubbles forming around the edge, you know it’s good to go. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips. Let it sit for a few minutes to let the chocolate chips melt, then whisk until smooth. Pour into the crust and let it set in the fridge or freezer before adding the peanut butter filling.
For the peanut butter filling: When it comes to cream cheese, I’ve found that if I don’t whip the cream cheese before adding the rest of the ingredients, it tends to form little lumps. So I always give the cream cheese a good whip before adding the peanut butter and half of the powdered sugar.
For best results, use conventional peanut butter like Jif, Peter Pan, Skippy etc. Avoid “natural” peanut butter since it tends to separate and become oily.
Whip the cream in a separate bowl. Add the other half of the powdered sugar and vanilla extract once the cream starts forming soft peaks. Beat well, then fold it into the peanut butter mixture. Do not use the mixer to beat it in as this will deflate the air you just incorporated into the whipped cream. Folding traps the air, resulting in a creamy and fluffy filling.
Here’s what folding looks like. Add the whipped cream to the bowl with the peanut butter mixture. Cut through it with a spatula or wooden spoon, scrape the bottom of the bowl, then bring the spatula up again, scooping the mixture over the top. Repeat this process until the whipped cream is fully incorporated.
How to make chocolate shavings
There are a couple of ways you can make chocolate shavings. Use a box grater to grate your chocolate for smaller curls. Or shave off slivers of the chocolate using a vegetable peeler or paring knife. This will give you larger curls.
Ingredients
- For the crust:
- 7 ounces (200 grams) Oreos, crushed
- ¼ cup melted butter
- For the chocolate ganache:
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup (6 ounces) chocolate chips
- For the peanut butter filling:
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar, divided
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Chocolate shavings
Instructions
- Mix the crushed Oreos with the melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 9-10 inch springform pan. Place in the freezer to set as you make the ganache.
- For the ganache, heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan over low heat until bubbles start forming along the edge. Pour over the chocolate chips and let stand for a few minutes. Then whisk until smooth. Pour into the crust. Place in the freezer to set while you make the peanut butter filling.
- For the peanut butter filling, whip the cream cheese until smooth. Then mix in the peanut butter and ½ cup powdered sugar. In a separate bowl, beat the cream until soft peaks start to form. Add the remaining ½ cup of powdered sugar and vanilla. Then mix until smooth. Gently fold into the peanut butter mixture until fully incorporated. Spoon over the ganache. Top with chocolate shavings, then cover and refrigerate the pie for at least 6 hours. Alternately, you can freeze it for 3-4 hours for a frozen dessert.
- Store pie, well covered, in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer up to 1 month.