peanut butter–fudge ice cream pie with chocolate cookie crust

prep: 25 MINUTES | bake: 10 MINUTES | total: 35 MINUTES, PLUS 3 HOURS FREEZING | serves 12

There are certain matches made in heaven when it comes to dessert: ice cream and pie, chocolate and peanut butter… so why not put them all together?! Add a chocolate cookie crust, and you pretty much have the ultimate dessert. With a filling of vanilla ice cream dotted with peanut butter cups and peanut butter hot fudge, and topped with fresh whipped cream, this dessert gets a big ol’ “Whoa!” every time we serve it.

CHOCOLATE COOKIE CRUST

Nonstick cooking spray

1 (9-ounce) package chocolate wafer cookies, finely crushed

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

½ cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

PEANUT BUTTER HOT FUDGE

¾ cup heavy cream

½ cup light corn syrup or golden syrup

¼ cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup cocoa powder

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

ICE CREAM FILLING

3 cups softened vanilla ice cream

1 cup chopped peanut butter cups

¼ cup creamy peanut butter

TO ASSEMBLE

1 cup chopped peanut butter cups

Whipped cream, for decorating (optional)

1 Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch pie pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2 In a medium bowl, stir together the crushed cookies, granulated sugar, and melted butter. Press the cookie mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pie pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool completely.

3 Make the hot fudge: In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, corn syrup, brown sugar, cocoa, butter, and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce to low. Cook, stirring, until all of the ingredients are combined and melted, about 1 minute. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the chocolate chips until they are melted. Add the peanut butter and vanilla and stir until smooth. Pour ½ cup of the hot fudge into the bottom of the cooled crust. Reserve the remaining fudge at room temperature to use in the filling and to top the pie.

4 Make the filling: In a large bowl, stir together the ice cream, peanut butter cups, and peanut butter. Fold in ¼ cup of the reserved peanut butter hot fudge.

5 Assemble the pie: Pour the filling into the cooled piecrust and smooth the top with a spatula. Sprinkle with the peanut butter cups and drizzle with the remaining peanut butter hot fudge, reheating it first to loosen, if necessary.

6 Carefully cover the pie with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Place in the freezer until the filling is firm, at least 3 hours. Fill a pastry bag with the whipped cream (if using) and pipe it in any decorative way you like. (If you don’t have a pastry bag you can fill a zip-top bag with the whipped cream and cut a hole in one of the corners of the bag.) Use a sharp knife to cut the pie into slices and serve immediately.