Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie


This happened late at night....like 10pm. I pretty much love to bake whenever I have the chance, but evening escapades with flour and sugar are a common occurence in my kitchen. My husband Jay doesn't complain.
Pies and tarts are my go-to dessert. The contrast of a creamy filling with a crunchy crust just makes me terribly happy. My top picks are usually key lime and berry-filled, but I decided to make something out of the norm this time.
This pie is all about the peanut butter. Sweet, salty, toasty and make-your-eyes-roll-back-in-your-head good.


The crust is a peanut butter cookie crust, the filling is a cream cheese & peanut butter blend and the topping is a silky milk-chocolate ganache (fancy french word for a blend of chocolate and cream). If you like a Reese's peanut butter cup, you will want to make this.



Oh....make sure you have a cold glass of milk (in my case, almond milk) handy. 

Here's the difficult part about baking....not eating it all yourself....every night....till it's gone. You know what I mean right?
Lately, my solution has been to "bake and take". I bake it, savor a piece (ok, maybe two) and then give the rest away. It's kind of like giving a little love away too. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.


Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart
Makes one 9 1/2 inch tart

recipe adapted from The Pie and Pastry Bible

Crust:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 T sugar
4 T unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter 
1/2 egg, (beat 1 egg first and then measure out 1 1/2 T)
1/4 tsp vanilla

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and mix with whisk.
In a food processor with metal blade, blend the sugars together till fine. With motor running, add the cubes of butter. Add peanut butter and process till smooth. Add egg and vanilla and blend till incorporated. Scrape down sides of bowl and then add flour mixture. Pulse just till it comes together.
Flatten dough into a disk and refrigerate for at least one hour, before attempting to roll out. Either roll out dough between two sheets of plastic, or just simply press dough evenly into bottom and up sides of tart pan. Cover tart and chill in refrigerator for at least an hour.
Bake in preheated 375F oven for about 10 minutes, or until golden. Cool.

Filling:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened (I used the light version)
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup heavy cream, softly whipped
In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the cream 
cheese, peanut butter and sugar till well blended. Add vanilla extract. Beat in just 1/4 cup of the softly whipped cream till incorporated.
Take the bowl off the mixer and use a rubber spatula to fold in the remaining cream. It should be well blended but still light and airy. Pour into tart shell, spread evenly and refrigerate tart.

Ganache:
3 ounces milk chocolate (splurge and get the good stuff)
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/3 cup heavy cream

Break chocolate up into small pieces (or use chips) and place into a small bowl. Heat up cream in a pot on the stove or in a heatproof glass measuring cup in the microwave, till it comes to boiling (please don't walk away....stay with your cream). Pour over chocolate, let it sit for a couple of minutes and then stir till smooth. Cool to room temperature and then pour over top of tart. Use a small metal spatula to smooth. Chill for 2 hours to set.



Comments

  1. Excited that you got your blog started Shannon! Congrats! Barbara

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  2. Shannon, It's probably a good thing I don't live near you and Jay! With your recipes and cooking, you'd never get rid of me!
    Rock on girl!

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    Replies
    1. We wish you lived closer Ron. We'd definitely share the baking love.

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  3. Oooo finally remembered to subscribe to your blog, this looks GREAT!

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  4. Thank you! It's been a blast. And the ideas just keep rolling!

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  5. So glad you escaped to the beach! I was thinking about you all weekend. Wondered if it rained, and thought you probably wouldn't care. Excited that you "discovered" a new little corner of Florida - now we want to go.

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