Peanut Butter Pie

Makes: One 9-inch pie, enough for about 8 to 15 servings

Time: About 1 hour

If you love peanut butter, you’ll go crazy for the smooth, airy filling of this pie. It’s rich (you’ll only need a sliver), but the light whipped cream–based texture keeps it balanced and civilized. Sprinkle chocolate crumbs or grated chocolate over the top if you like an extra kick or add slices of banana in between layers of filling.

• ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
• One 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
• ½ recipe Whipped Cream
• Cookie Crumb Crust made with chocolate wafers or sandwich cookies, pressed into a 9-inch pie plate, baked, and cooled

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the peanut butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth. Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until combined, then fold in the Whipped Cream.

2. Spread the filling evenly into the cooled piecrust and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER PRETZEL PIE Peanut butter and chocolate play perfectly off the salty crunch of pretzels: Substitute crushed pretzel bits for ½ cup of the crumb mixture in the Cookie Crumb Crust. Fold 4 ounces cooled melted dark chocolate into the filling.

CHOCOLATE-HAZELNUT PIE Substitute a Nut Tart Crust made with hazelnuts for the Cookie Crumb Crust. Substitute Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread for the peanut butter.

6 More Nut Butter Pies

Use the Peanut Butter Pie as a template and swap the nut butters and crusts for something completely your own. Some nut butters may be hard to find in the store. No problem—making your own (see page 586) is a cinch.

NUT BUTTER FILLING	CRUST
Cashew butter	No-Bake Fruit and Nut Crust
Almond butter	Meringue Nut Crust
Hazelnut butter or Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread	Chocolate Tart Crust
Tahini	Coconut Tart Crust, All-Coconut Crust, or Nut Tart Crust made with pistachios
Pecan butter	Cookie Crumb Crust made with gingersnaps
Pistachio butter	Cookie Crumb Crust made with lemon wafers