 |
March 14 (3-14 get it?) is national pi day. What better way to celebrate with a pie?
Let’s face it, any excuse will work, right?
Everyone who knows me knows that I have a deep and abiding hatred of all things math. I would rather diagram sentences, memorize verb conjugations in French or Latin, or clean a toilet in the men’s restroom than do math. Ick.
People say, “Oh but you use so much math when you cook!” That might be true but math, swaddled in chocolate and sugar, is much more appealing than math, naked on a paper. I am a random thinker – and most of my kids have developed that way as well. We have three linear thinkers – but even they are more random than most. And just to prove that I can do math if I have to? 3/8 ths of my children have those engineer brains that like to think in a rational line.
My husband does, too. I am sort of wondering how long it will take him to give up and jump down the rabbit hole with the rest of us.
However.
Pi, pie, pah (if you are from the south) – whatever you want to call it? It is good. And this? This is better than most.
Creamy and rich, crunchy, salty, sweet, chocolatey… Your mouth will be jumping from one flavor to another like a sugar-high kid in a Toys R Us store. If you really like that sweet salty combo go ahead and sprinkle a little Fleur de Sel on the top just before serving.
This goes together really quick. And it disappears even more quickly – at least around here.
You can use melted caramels, commercial caramel sauce, OR you can treat yourself to the Jack Daniels caramel sauce here. You know which one I would go with, right? Yeah, I thought so.
Save some of the pretzel crumbs and chocolate to drizzle over the top. It looks beautiful and tastes better.
Cut this in small pieces. It is written for 10 servings but you could probably make it 12 unless your family is expert dessert consumers. (I went back and forth on is or are in that sentence but the subject is family not consumers. Family takes the singular verb. Just don’t ask me to figure out where x is.)
C’mon. You know you want to. Just. One. Bite.
Rich, creamy peanut butter pie with the extra luxury of caramel and chocolate ganache. Salty, sweet, creamy, rich, crunchy and delicious - it will tame your dessert monster in a flash. Lots of calories here - save it for special occasions.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups coarsely crushed pretzels, reserve some for the top
- 2/3 cup butter, melted
- 1/3 cup caramel sauce, either homemade or commercial
- 1 (12 oz) package chocolate chips - milk, bittersweet, semi sweet, dark, or a combination - reserve some for topping
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 1/3 cup sugar
- Fleur de Sel
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Add the melted butter to pretzel crumbs and toss with a fork.
- Press the mixture into a 10 inch pie plate, firmly.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until set.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
- Heat the 1/3 cup of heavy cream to a simmer.
- Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate chips.
- Continue to stir until mixture is smooth and all of the chips are melted.
- Set aside.
- Add the peanut butter and cream cheese to a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
- Beat until the peanut butter and cream cheese mix and soften.
- Add the 1/2 cup sugar and beat until there is no graininess.
- Set aside.
- In a clean mixer bowl, with the whip attachment whip the cream until it begins to thicken.
- Slowly add the 1/3 cup sugar as you continue to whip the cream until it is thick and fluffy.
- Do not overbeat.
- Carefully fold half of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture, be sure not to deflate the cream.
- Fold in the rest of the whipped cream.
- Add the caramel to the prepared crust.
- Chill briefly. (10 -15 minutes, just to set)
- Spoon the chocolate on top of the caramel and chill for 10 minutes or so.
- Add the peanut butter mixture.
- Top with the reserved chocolate and pretzel crumbs
- Just before serving top with a sprinkle of Fleur de Sel if desired.
Notes:
A great homemade caramel sauce can be found on Restlesschipotle.com. http://www.restlesschipotle.com/2012/03/banana-bread-pudding-with-jack-daniels-caramel-sauce/
If you are looking for Fleur de Sel Amazon has a great selection-
© 2012 Marye Audet
Pingback: What should I make? (beware: DESSERTS!)
Made this today, used gluten free pretzels! Delish;)
Everyone loved it, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for letting me know!
The peanut butter filling part of the recipe ended up being awesome but the crust was a little less then desirable. 2/3c. butter is WAY to much for only 1 1/2c. crushed pretzel. It was basically a butter pretzel soup. I had to add at least 1c. more of crushed pretzels to get the consistency correct. And in the end I pitched it and used an Oreo crust because it tasted very bland.
I’m sorry Kristin. It did work fine for me. I wonder if it was the difference in brand of pretzels? Mine were quite salty and I left the crumbs pretty coarse. For us a chocolate crust would have been too sweet. I am glad you were able to adjust it to your tastes.
How does this recipe do if made the night before and kept in the fridge? Any thoughts?
It is fine overnight… Just make sure it is air tight because it will pick up flavors very easily – and let it sit out for 30 minutes before serving.
Pingback: What's Cooking... in your kitchen (week 13)
Pingback: Recipes For The Peanut Butter Lover!
What is fleuer de sel??
an imported French sea salt that is very flaky
Hoping to make this today .. “add the caramel” means what exactly? Drizzle it over the crust or create another layer?
It is a thin layer.
Made this twice to some of the ravest reviews i have ever heard! Renamed it orgasm pie because it is that good! Referred to it as such and a friend who tried my first attempt knew exactly what dessert I was referring to.
Thank you!
I love these kind of comments.
Large family get-together, so I doubled and made it in a 9×13!!! Was well-liked. (I had a lot of peanut butter mixture leftover though – - good for a “pretzel dip”)
Pingback: 50 Best Pie Recipes on the Internet (and maybe in the world) « 50 Best Recipes «