Peanut Butter Crème Icebox Pie

Ingredients:

·       2 cups of graham cracker crumbs – or if you’re making the crumbs yourself from chocolate graham crackers, use about 1 ½ packages which should be about 14 graham crackers.

·       6 Tablespoons butter - melted

·      ¼ cup sugar

·       3.5 ounces good quality milk chocolate (optional, 1 or 2 extra ounces of milk chocolate, held aside)
·       ¼ cup heavy cream – plus 2 cups

·       1 cup peanut butter (smooth, not one that separates from the peanut oil)

·       8 ounces cream cheese

·       ½ cup fine sugar

·       1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

Crust: (preheat oven to 350)

If you’re not buying the graham cracker crumbs already prepared, you can break your graham crackers and pulse them in the food processor until they are a sandy consistency, or you can break them and put them in a large freezer bag and crunch them with a rolling pin.  If you have kids it’s a great way to include them in the cooking.

Put the sugar and half melted butter in a medium bowl and mix it

Add the graham cracker crumbs to the sugar/butter mixture and add the remaining butter.

Mix together well and empty it into a 9” deep dish pie dish.

Spread it around well and use the back of a spoon to push it evenly (more or less) up the sides of the pie dish.

Put the pie dish in the oven for about 8 minutes.  Take it out and put it on a rack to cool.

Chocolate

Heat water in the bottom piece of a double boiler – don’t let the water touch the top piece.

Break the chocolate (not the optional chocolate) into small pieces and when the water is just below a boil, put it in the top of a double boiler.

It won’t take long for the chocolate to melt, so keep stirring. 

Once the chocolate is melted take it off the heat, keep stirring and slowly add the ¼ cup of heavy cream – stir until it is smooth

Pour the chocolate mixture over the bottom of the graham cracker pie crust, tilting the pie dish a little to get it even all the way around. 

Let the chocolate and the pie crust cool completely on a rack.

Peanut Butter Cream

While the crust and chocolate are cooling, beat the heavy cream in the mixer using a whisk attachment on medium until stiff peaks form, about 10 minutes. Set aside

In another bowl, using the paddle attachment on medium-high and beat the cream cheese until it’s smooth. 

Once it’s smooth, add the sugar, peanut butter and vanilla and mix in well (use a rubber spatula to ensure that the bottom is well blended).

Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until combined.   

Spread the filling in the cool pie shell. Smooth the top.

Optional: Shred the remainder of the chocolate over the pie

Store in a covered container and refrigerate for about 5 hours (or overnight) before serving.