Peanut Butter Pie

Today was my husband's birthday. Since he loves anything to do with peanut butter, I thought pie. At first I thought of making a peanut butter cake but then I found this recipe on Martha Stewart's website and new that my husband would love it. I changed a few things though. I don't have a tart pan so I just used 9" round springform pan. I didn't want to use graham crackers so I used a package of digestive cookies and 1/2 cup of melted butter. I mixed that together and baked it for 10 minutes at 350F.

Peanut Butter Pie (adapted from Martha Stewart)

FOR THE CRUST
Ten 4 3/4-by-2 1/2-inch graham crackers, broken into pieces

6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

FOR THE FILLING
3 ounces best-quality milk chocolate, plus more for curls
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup cream cheese (4 ounces)
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

Place graham crackers in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until fine crumbs are formed. Transfer to a medium bowl, and add butter. Stir with a fork until thoroughly combined. Place crumbs in a 13 3/4-by-4 1/4-inch rectangular tart pan with a removable bottom. Press crumbs up the sides of the pan to form the edge of the tart and then evenly over the bottom of the pan. Place in the refrigerator while making the filling.

Fill a large bowl with ice and water. Finely chop chocolate, and place in a medium bowl. Place 1/2 cup cream in a small saucepan over medium heat, and bring to a boil. Pour over chopped chocolate, and set aside for 5 minutes to yield chocolate ganache. Whisk to combine. Set in ice bath until ganache is cool, whisking constantly. Once cool, remove from ice bath, and whisk until ganache is just thick enough to hold its shape; do not overbeat. Spread in the bottom of the prepared crust, and return to the refrigerator until set.

Combine peanut butter, cream cheese, and sweetened condensed milk in the bowl of a food processor; process until smooth. Transfer to a mixing bowl.

Whip 3/4 cup heavy cream to soft peaks. Add whipped cream to peanut butter mixture; whisk to combine.

Spoon mixture into prepared crust; return to the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight. Remove tart from refrigerator, and transfer to a serving platter 10 minutes before serving. Whip remaining 1/2 cup cream. Top tart with dollops of whipped cream. Use a vegetable peeler to make chocolate curls for garnish.

Enjoy,

Erna