Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie

The Other Williams recently had a birthday! I really love birthday's. There is no better reason to celebrate other than a birthday. As you know The Other Williams is the cook in the family; however, I'm the baker!

One of The Other Williams' favorite types of desserts is anything with peanut butter in it. Recently we went to one of our favorite local restaurants, Stella's Southern Bistro! Their menu is as local as you can get here and the food is blow-yer-mind good but it's their Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie that will bring a grown lady to her knees!


It's one of our favorite desserts of all time and I thought it was high time I tried my hand at baking my own version of this masterpiece. I looked at several recipes and settled on Elizabeth from Sugar Hero's Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie

There is a saying down south when something is really, really good and this is so good it will make you slap yo' mama! It's just like Stella's version and when I surprised The Other Williams (and her co-workers) with this on her birthday she was drooling! She loved it. So if you have a peanut butter nut in your family, we've found their new favorite recipe. Now get bakin'!

 
Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie
By Elizabeth LaBau

Serves 12-16

For the Chocolate Ganache:
8 ounces chopped semi-sweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp light corn syrup

For the Crust:
12 ounces Oreo cookies (about 26-30 cookies)
2 ounces (4 tablespoons) butter

For the Peanut Butter Mousse:
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural variety)
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces mascarpone cheese

To Garnish:
Whipped cream, chopped peanuts, extra ganache, peanut butter cups, etc

The ganache will need to cool for awhile, so it should be prepared first. Place the chopped chocolate in a heat-safe bowl, and combine the cream and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the cream to a boil, and as soon as it starts boiling, pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate. Whisk everything together until the chocolate is melted and your ganache is shiny and smooth. Press a layer of cling wrap on top of the ganache.

The ganache now needs to cool until it’s the texture of peanut butter. You can leave it at room temperature, which will take several hours, or speed up the process by refrigerating it for 45-60 minutes.

While you wait for the ganache to cool, make the crust. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place the cookies in a food processor and pulse in long bursts until they are in fine crumbs. Melt the butter and add it to the cookie crumbs, stirring until they’re evenly moistened.

Press the cookie crumbs in the bottom of the pan and up the sides about 2 inches. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, until it starts to puff and looks set but is not burned. Let it cool completely.

Once the ganache is thickened and the crust is cool, beat the ganache with a mixer until it is light, fluffy, and the texture of chocolate frosting. Spread it in the bottom of the cookie crust.

To make the peanut butter mousse, first whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form, then transfer it to another bowl. In the same mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter and the powdered sugar and mix on medium speed until well-incorporated. (Mixture will be very stiff.) Add the vanilla extract, salt, and mascarpone cheese. Beat on medium speed until everything is well-combined. Mascarpone breaks easily, so don’t overwhip the mousse or leave the mixer running unattended.

Fold in 1/3 of the whipped cream to lighten the peanut butter mixture, then add the rest and gently fold everything together. Scrape the peanut butter mousse onto the whipped ganache, and spread everything into an even layer. Refrigerate the pie overnight, or for at least 6 hours until it is firm and set.

To finish it, garnish the top with whipped cream, chopped peanuts, chocolate peanut butter cups, or chocolate sauce. Store Peanut Butter Mousse in an airtight container in the refrigerator.