Move over Elmo's: My Peanut Butter Pie

This is an all time favorite and one of the first pies that I tried baking. My first attempt was inspired by a request from a picky eater who said that, of the few desserts that he liked, the Elmo's peanut butter pie was at the top of his list. I love a challenge, and so I made it my personal goal to appeal to said picky-eater's sweet tooth, and to make him rave about my peanut butter pie with even greater enthusiasm than that with which he spoke about Elmo's.

At the time, I had not tried Elmo's peanut butter pie. However, I'd eaten on many occasions the peanut butter pie at our local food coop, Weaver Street Market. The creamy chocolatey goodness of their pie appealed to my chocolate sweet tooth. This was the period in my life when I was still sadly and utterly ignorant of the wonders of heavy cream and butter. Therefore, I had no idea how I might bake the pie myself. So one day I worked up the nerve to ask the woman who was working behind the Weaver Street pastry counter if they might give me their recipe. I was expecting her to respond with a scornful nod, "sorry dear, but no..." I was wrong though; the kind woman immediately walked to the back of the kitchen and retrieved the recipe for me! The black box of the chocolate peanut butter pie had been opened, and oh what a revelation this was.

But what, you ask, ever happened to the picky eater? Ah, yes, I must conclude my story of the picky eater and his peanut butter pie. The story has a bit of a sad ending, because it turns out, we lost touch, the picky eater and I. Consequently, he never tried my version of chocolate peanut butter pie, although in my heart I believe that he would have preferred mine to Elmo's. The happy part of this story's end is that his request caused me to discover this recipe, which I now get to share with you.



Finally, I should say that the Weaver Street Market recipe that the woman gave me was written for bulk pie preparation (with ingredient measurements for either 2, 4, or 6 pies). It was also rather cryptic (For example, for 2 pies the recipe calls for 1 unit of cream cheese at room temperature. What does that mean?? 1 cup? 1 tablespoon?). As a result, I had to finagle the ingredient measurements but I finally have a recipe that I feel comfortable sharing.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie, or Peanut Butter Silk Pie,

adapted from the Weaver Street Market recipe (which, I've noticed, might be adapted from the Joy of Cooking recipe )

Ingredients:

1 single pie crust, pre-baked

For the ganache:
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream

For the filling:
1/2 cup cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter (use creamy for a smooth consistency, chunky for more texture)
1 tablespoon vanilla or almond extract
1 cup heavy cream

To prepare:

1.) Allow the prebaked pie crust to cool to room temperature.

2.) Now, prepare the ganache. Place your chocolate in a sauce pan on medium-low temperature. Stir the chocolate with a wooden spoon, and slowly add the 1/2 cup of heavy cream. The mixture will become smooth and thick.

3.) Once your ganache has become a nice, thick consistency, pour it into the bottom of your pie shell and place in the fridge until it is solid.


4.) While your ganache is chillin' in the fridge (haha) prepare your filling. Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, peanut butter, and extract until it is well combined and creamy.


Place that mixture in a bowl and set aside for later.

5.) Now whip the 3/4 cup heavy cream until stiff peaks are formed. Then, gently fold the whipped cream into the peanut butter/cream cheese mixture.


6.) Place your peanut butter/whipped cream mixture in your pie dish on top of the chilled chocolate ganache. Top with chocolate shavings if you wish, and then chill in the fridge.

Enjoy and share with friends. This is a rich and filling pie but so good that people still come back for seconds!