Peanut Butter Pie
Graham cracker and pretzel crust, topped with caramel sauce and peanut butter cream cheese filling.
Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST
- 1 cup crushed pretzels
- 9 graham crackers full rectangles
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
FOR THE FILLING
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup peanut butter smooth
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
FOR THE CARAMEL
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 4 Tbsp water
- 2 tsp light corn syrup
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp salt
Garnish
- Salted peanuts
- Chocolate peanut butter cups
Instructions
For the Crust
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Spray an 8-inch pie pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
- In a food processor, combine the pretzels, graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and granulated sugar. Pulse until the mixture resembles "wet sand."
- Firmly press the crust into the pie pan, pushing it up against the sides a bit.
- Bake the crust for 7 minutes and then remove from oven to cool completely before assembly.
For the Filling
- In a medium size bowl, combine the peanut butter and cream cheese and mix until combined. Mixture will be slightly thick. Set aside.
- In a stainless steel bowl, beat the whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla on medium-high speed until still peaks form.
- Fold the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture until smooth. (See picture above).
For the Caramel
- Mix sugar, water and corn syrup in a small saucepan.
- Bring the water and sugar mixture to boil over medium heat, but DO NOT STIR. (Stirring encourages crystallization). Let the mixture cook until it caramelizes into a golden brown color. It happens quickly, so keep an eye on it.
- Remove the caramelized sugar syrup from the heat and slowly mix in the cream. Pour in just a tiny bit at a time, especially at the beginning, and mix to combine. You can start adding more and more as you go along.
- Mix in salt and vanilla. Stir to combine. Let cool to room temperature.
Assembly
- Once the crust is cooled completely, pour about 3/4 of the caramel onto the crust and spread on the bottom and the sides with the back of a spoon.
- Pour all of the filling into the pie pan, on top of the caramel, and spread evenly.
- Sprinkle the top with peanuts, chocolate peanut butter cups and the remaining caramel.