Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

I've made this pie once before for Thanksgiving, but never got the chance to actually post about it. This year, I made it for the Second Thanksgiving that my friends and I had together the Sunday after Thanksgiving. We made a turkey, mashed potatoes, bacon macaroni and cheese, stuffing, and broccoli casserole. There was also yams and pepperoni bread. For dessert, we had iced pumpkin cookies and this chocolate peanut butter pie.

The first time I made it, my family ate it all in about five minutes. I can't even remember if I got a slice of it. I may have had to ask someone for a bite just so I could try it. This time, everyone was so full that they weren't able to have it until later on, but everyone loved it! The recipe doesn't call for the chopped Reese's cups, but I decided to add them on because why not? Reese's cups are awesome and who is going to say no to MORE chocolate and peanut butter? The recipe called for chopped peanuts on top, but Reese's cups>peanuts. ...Did I mention that I love Reese's?

This is another pie that's pretty easy to make. The only thing is that you have to make it a little ahead of time as the pie has to chill in the fridge for a while. I made the pie filling at around 2 in the morning the night before, then made the ganache in the morning. After putting on the ganache, I refrigerated the pie for about 2-3 hours before we had to leave. It was pretty firm. I left it in the fridge at our friend's place until we were ready to eat it.

Once again, I just bought a pie crust. You can make your own chocolate crust out of Oreo crumbs, but we had a sort of time constraint since this past weekend was so hectic. Plus, I just don't like making crust. It's one of the few things I will cheat for and just buy store-bought.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
Source: Joy of Baking

Ingredients:

For the Peanut Butter Filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

For the Chocolate Ganache:

4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut in small pieces

For the Garnish (optional):
Chopped Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (I used Reese's Minis)

1 pie crust (I used Keebler's chocolate)

Directions:

Peanut Butter Filling: Beat the cream cheese and peanut butter until well blended and smooth. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, beat the whipping cream until soft peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Pour the filling into the pie crust and smooth the top. Cover loosely and place in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours or until firm.

Ganache: Melt the chocolate, cream, and butter in a bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature and then spread the ganache over the peanut butter filling. Sprinkle with chopped Reese's cups, if desired. Cover and place in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

The pie will keep about one week in the refrigerator.