What a day to celebrate Pi with Pie! Peanut Butter Fudge pie is loaded with creamy peanut butter and a little milk chocolate. No worries, the peanut butter is the main event.
A little back story, for years our family has made what we call our own “Magic Shell.” It’s the chocolate sauce for ice cream that hardens as soon as it gets cold. Our version is melted chocolate chips and peanut butter. We even use it as a dip for bananas or eat the melty goodness with a spoon. Hence, the inspiration for peanut butter fudge pie.
Step one is beating the powdered sugar with cream cheese and then adding the peanut butter.
Spread the peanut butter filling into the chocolate cookie crust and pour on the melted chocolate peanut butter. I used a spatula to fold it together in the pie plate for a hidden marbling effect (see the slice picture). It’s a nice little effect when you slice into the pie.
However, the next time I make it I am going to stir it together, ever so slightly, in a large bowl first. I loved the marble effect but I had to be very careful not to “grab” bits of the crust. I mean, yes, it’s gonna taste the same, but it needs to look good too. (Think Billy Crystal, Fernando’s Hide-Away, SNL.)
For garnish I used the remaining “Magic Shell” drizzled on and some of my homemade peanut butter cup crumbles. Super yum-a-licious!
As far as sharing a slice with some friends; that didn’t happen. The family loved the fudgy goodness as it disappeared in a very small amount of time. With only one slice left. to hide it or not to hide it; that’s my biggest decision today.
Peanut Butter Fudge Pie
Ingredients
- 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temp
- 1/2 cup pure cane powdered sugar
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter (divided)
- 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1 prepared chocolate cookie crust (see notes below for gluten free)
- crumbled peanut butter cups (optional) (see notes below for making your own gluten free peanut butter cup topping)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer (I like KitchenAid), beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar together.
- Add 1/2 cup of the peanut (save the other 1/2 cup to melt with chocolate) and cream into the cream cheese. Beat together for 2 to 3 minutes until it is slightly lightened.
- Spread the filling into the pie plate.
- In a microwave safe bowl melt the 1/2 cup chocolate chips and the remaining 1/2 cup peanut butter at 20 second intervals, stirring at each interval. It should take less than a full minute for the mixture to be completely melted and creamy smooth.
- Pour the melted peanut butter-chocolate onto the filling (saving about 3 tablespoons or so for garnish) and fold in with a spatula until the top is a solid color (there will be a bit of marbling you will see when you cut into the pie). See note below.
- Drizzle on the remaining peanut butter-chocolate and garnish edges with crumbled peanut butter cups. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours before serving.
How rich is this pie? Sounds super rich, like I could only eat one bite. But if I could eat the whole pie, now that would be something!
Well, hello there, there’s not a TON of sugar, but I did cut pie into 12 pieces, which was just about right per serving.