Serious picture overload today. But I don’t think that should be a problem considering peanut butter pie on a peanut butter Oreo crust with smooth chocolate ganache and two layers of crushed Reese’s Pieces. Right? Not a problem at all.
I’m in birthday dessert test mode at the moment. Kevin’s birthday is next month and we’re having a bunch of our friends over for an afternoon shindig. There will be grilling. There will be dogs. There will be meats. There will be Coors Light. There will be peanut butter & chocolate and my goodness there WILL be a finished kitchen. Can I get a heck yeah! All good things ahead.
Kevin’s favorite food (behind meat and green bean casserole with extra crunchy onion things) is most definitely chocolate and peanut butter. Together or separate, the guy doesn’t discriminate. Remember when he spread peanut butter on the double chocolate zucchini bread? My world changed. Also: exhibit B.
All of this peanut butter and chocolate information makes the dessert brainstorming quite simple each year. What better dessert to make for the birthday festivities than a peanut butter chocolate monster pie? Because pie goals.
There are 4 things happening in this unbelievable peanut butter pie:
- Peanut butter Oreo crust
- Creamy peanut butter filling
- Rich chocolate ganache
- Crushed Reese’s Pieces: in two places!
I knew an Oreo crust was the place to start, but when I was in the cookie aisle my mind started racing staring at the 347 different flavors of Oreos. I really do think there are 347 Oreo flavors by now. Has anyone seen or tried the fruity crisp Oreos yet? Anyway, I went with peanut butter flavored and obviously did not regret that decision. Neither will you!
In related news: peanut butter Oreos may just the the best cookie in the cookie aisle ever of all time. Thank you.
The peanut butter filling is about as decadently rich as we can get. It’s just 5 ingredients: heavy cream, peanut butter, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla extract. In other words, calories. It’s made from calories.
You’ll whip the heavy cream into whipped cream, then fold it into the other ingredients. I tried my hand at making this peanut butter pie without cream cheese. My goodness, that thing wouldn’t hold its shape! Delish? Yes. Sloppy central? Heck yes. For anyone concerned, don’t fret. You can’t really taste the cream cheese; rather, you truly just taste peanut butter. A lot of peanut butter.
For the ganache, it’s simply chocolate and heavy cream. Ganache is so easy. Just pour warm cream over chocolate and stir. Use a quality chocolate because it’s where all of the flavor comes from. I would avoid using chocolate chips– use the real deal. Pure chocolate never lets you down. Never! See my chocolate ganache page if you need extra help with it.
You’ll want to make the ganache in the beginning because it must fully cool down before pouring over the peanut butter filling. Likewise, prepare the Oreo crust in advance. It must be pre-baked for about 10 minutes, then cool down. This all makes it a wonderful pie to begin ahead of time.
There’s no baking! Well, except for that crust. Rather, the refrigerator does all the work. The pie must set up in the refrigerator for 5-6 hours. Overnight would be wonderful, but I’ve made this peanut butter pie twice in just 5 hours of chill time. Peanut butter perfection each time.
The layers! The textures! The crunch from the Oreo crust, the Reese’s pieces candy pieces, the creamy peanut butter filling, the smooth chocolate ganache. This might just be the richest dessert I’ve ever made. Honestly, a small sliver is enough to satisfy. Until next month when I make this again.
Get ready for this!
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The most unbelievable peanut butter pie! Complete with an Oreo cookie crust, Reese’s Pieces, chocolate ganache, this recipe is over the top in the best way.
Ingredients
Oreo Crust
- 20 peanut butter Oreos (or regular, Double Stuf is ok!)
- 5 Tablespoons (75g) unsalted butter, melted
Ganache
- 3/4 cup (180g) heavy cream
- 6 ounces (170g) semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
Peanut Butter Filling
- 3/4 cup (180ml) heavy cream
- 8 ounce (224g) block cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups (310g) creamy peanut butter
- 3/4 cup (90g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (200g) Reese’s Pieces, crushed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a 9-inch pie dish with nonstick spray or grease lightly with butter.
- Make the crust: In a food processor or blender, pulse the whole Oreos into a fine crumb. Stir the cookie crumbs and melted butter together, then press into the pie dish. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Allow to cool as you prepare the rest.
- Make the ganache: Place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once it begins to boil, immediately remove from heat then pour over the chocolate. Stir gently until the ganache is smooth. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature. During this time, it will slowly thicken as well.
- Make the filling: Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Spoon the whipped cream into a bowl and set aside. Using the same mixing bowl (no need to rinse clean!), beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla extract together on medium-high speed until combined. Mixture will be thick. Fold in the whipped cream until smooth. be gentle, you don’t want to deflate that cream.
- Sprinkle half of the Reese’s Pieces on top of the cooled crust. Spread peanut butter filling evenly on top, then spread ganache on top of filling. Sprinkle the rest of the Reese’s Pieces on top.
- Chill the pie in the refrigerator for 5-6 hours or even overnight. Slice and serve cold.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can get started on the crust in step 2 and the ganache in step 3. You can keep both in the refrigerator overnight if you’re getting started the day before. Cover both tightly. This pie can be frozen up to 3 months. It’s tasty frozen or you can let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- Peanut Butter: Use a non-natural peanut butter like Jif creamy or Skippy creamy. I do not suggest using natural style or oily peanut butter; both cause the filling to separate and/or turn greasy.
Keywords: peanut butter pie
This was likely a melty Reese’s and one of my favorite dessert yet! I enjoyed it was an espresso to help balance out the sweet!
Hi Sally! Do you think this would work in a springform pm instead of a pie dish? I’m wanting to do something fun for my husband’s birthday and he would love this but he’s not a pie guy per se. I’m thinking if I did the springform it would give it a Cheesecake feel.
Definitely!
I’ve never fixed such a rich chocolate peanut butter recipe don’t ever start tasting ahead or you won’t have enough for a pie or anything (I did) so if your a peanut butter mixture fan make the pie first and scrap the pan for more and relax til pie is ready. Makes an excellent dessert because you can serve small pies because it’s so rich . And take the recipe and if your ever at a dinner and this is dessert get your pie first as it’s gone quickly and your left with crumbs Thaks so much for sharing this deltoid peanut butter pie~~ Raz
Hey Sally!
Does the whipping/heavy cream need to be warmed to room temperature before whipping it and making the filling, or is it ok to use it cold? I know room temp dairy is usually the rule for baking, but this pie is a little different, so I wanted to check.
Thanks!
Cold is best for making the whipped cream 🙂
Have you ever made these in a cupcake pan? I’m wanting to make them for a school activity and individual serving sizes would be best. Any recommendations for quantity of crust mixture per cupcake well and bake time (for the crust)? Thanks!
Hi Jennifer! I haven’t. Though I’d use about 1 – 1.5 Tbsp of crust per cupcake and pre-bake for 8 minutes.
Now that I think about this again, do you think the pie filling is sturdy enough for cupcake form ? I would hate to peel of the wrapper, take a bite and have the rest fall apart 🙁 Thanks again! Hope your baby girl is well!
Is there a nondairy substitute for heavy cream? Can coconut milk be used?
Full-fat coconut milk (the canned kind) should be ok!
The crust doesn’t seem to be cooking. It is very soggy … does it set during cooling?
Deliciously rich and decadent peanut butter pie. It was easy to make and my husband enjoys to so much it’s his desert special request. Thanks!
Excellent! I’ve made many peanut butter pies and this is the best one so far. The peanut butter is the highlight. The texture is like silk. It’s rich, but not overly sweet. There are a few steps to the prep, but none is time-consuming nor difficult. The detailed recipe instructions and pictures are very helpful. The filling seemed a bit thick and grainy after beating the cream cheese, peanut butter and sugar together, but once the whipped cream was folded in, it smoothed out and was nice and light. The texture became more silky after chilling and freezing. I preferred it right from the freezer, but others thought it was silkier after it had thawed. I used the weight measures for the filling, and instead of a 9-inch pie plate I used an 8-inch springform pan. The filling came to within 1/4 inch of the top of the pan, leaving just enough room for the ganache. I subbed coarsely chopped mini peanut butter cups for the Reese’s Pieces, and sprinkled all of them on top of the ganache. I also added a white chocolate peanut butter swirl to the ganache. This is an outstanding make-ahead dessert!
I’m so happy that you tried this, Sadie! Reading your description has me craving a piece right now! And that white chocolate peanut butter swirl…..wow!
Can I use something else for the crust other than the Oreos? 🙂
Hi Adele! A graham cracker crust is an excellent substitute for the Oreo cookie crust.
I’m making this for my BFF’s birthday this weekend…but she lives 2 hours away. Would it be okay if I refrigerated it overnight, drove 2 hours with it in the car, and the stuck it in her refrigerator all afternoon?! She absolutely adores pb-choco and I know she will LOVE it!
If you put it in a cooler with ice packs for the drive it should be just fine! I hope she has a great birthday!
Another amazing peanut butter recipe! So creamy, dreamy and easy to put together!
★★★★★
This looks amazing! Planning on making this for the 4th of July as it’s also my husbands birthday. Do you think I could make this in a mini cheesecake pan? Would love to make it into a dessert that’s already individually sized. Do you think the structure would hold up in that type of pan? Thanks!
Hi Kim! You can arrange these layers in a springform pan or a few mini springform pans– the texture will be great and the pie will hold up nicely. It will be easier to cut, too!
Do you think I can omit the cream cheese and come out with a similar result? Looks great!
Hi Heather! The peanut butter filling won’t be as thick and creamy without it. I fear it wouldn’t set properly.
Hi Sally!
Can I use Graham Chocolate Crackers for the crust instead of Oreos? And if so, what quantity would you use? 🙂
Absolutely! You want about 1 and 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs, so about full 12 graham crackers.
Delicious!! I didn’t change anything and it turned out perfect. Thanks!
★★★★★
Hi Sally – I want to use your recipe but scale it up to a 12 x 17 slab pie. Do you think doubling the recipe would work? My husband wants this pie for his birthday, and I trust your recipes so wanted to use yours, but his party is a tad large at 200 people + (!) so instead of making a trillion 9″ pies, I was going to try the slab pie route. Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome! And I hope Jude is doing well. ❤️ Thank you!
Hi Janet! This recipe yields a lot of filling, so doubling it for a 12×17 inch pan should work very nicely. I recommend making a few sheet pans of it for that many people. (Sounds like a fun party!!)
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond Sally – excited to hear it should work out! And yes, I will be up to my eyeballs in sheet pans. 🙂
Just got done making this with Smucker’s natural peanut butter then saw the note at the bottom about not using natural peanut butter. Maybe modify the recipe to put that note at the top? Fingers crossed it comes out ok.