Tag Archives: peanut butter

Peanut Butter Cream Pie (Redux)

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Peanut Butter Cream PieI’ve done a Peanut Butter Cream Pie in a previous blog post.  You can see it here.  Why do it again?  One:  it’s Peanut Butter Cream Pie.  The question is why not do it again.  The previous pie was a dense, sinful confection.  This version is whisper light and airy, but don’t be fooled.  This pie contains a whopping 4 cups of whipping cream.  You read that correctly.  2 cups in the pie, 2 cups on top.  YUM!  Add to that 8 ounces of cream cheese and some peanut butter and you have a calorie extravaganza.

On the plus side, making this pie is incredibly easy.  It’s seriously no bake, and it doesn’t have to sit in the fridge for hours.  The pie is perfect for a pot luck, or a thrown together dessert just because.  The recipe is very novice cook friendly, and definitely within the abilities of younger budding chefs, provided they can use a mixer safely.

I had this pie at one of Emeril Legasse’s restaurants in New Orleans.  Before he became a mega start and the BAM! guy,  I actually met him.  Granted, he was on Food Network, when they actually cooked on that network.  But, not many cable companies had the channel (mine didn’t!).  He very nicely came out to my table to autograph a cookbook my father and I bought for my mother.    The food was spectacular that night, but meeting and conversing with him was tremendous.  Despite the passage of time, the memories of the pie stuck with me.    Light, airy, yet rich and creamy all at the same time.  Truly the perfect ending to a summer cookout.  When I was recently invited to a cookout, I brought this pie.

I made just a few changes to this recipe in the margins, but there’s no denying my inspiration was Emeril’s pie.  For the original recipe, click here.  Some general notes, though. I love natural peanut butter because mostly I hate transfat.  However, you need the “no stir” natural peanut butter for this recipe to really work.  Also, I always use Philadelphia brand Cream Cheese.

Peanut Butter Cream Pie

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons heavy cream
4 cups (minus the two tablespoons used above) heavy cream, whipped until thick
1 Oreo Pie Crust (store bought, may use any crumb crust, though)
1/2 cup chocolate shavings

In a mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar and peanut butter. Mix until light and creamy. Add the heavy cream and mix well. Fold in half of the whipped cream. Whip the ingredients together with whip attachment on the mixer to thoroughly combine.

Spread peanut butter mixture into pie shell. Refrigerate for at least an hour, until set. Top with remaining whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Peanut Butter Cream Pie

Peanut Butter Cream Pie

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Peanut Butter Cream Pie

 

Peanut Butter Blossoms

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Peanut Butter Blossoms

I remember making Peanut Butter Blossoms when I was a kid.  Sure, it was a trans fat nightmare way back then.  But, what wasn’t?  Now, I look at the recipe for Peanut Butter Blossoms helpfully provided on the back of the package of Hershey’s Kisses and think:  I can do better.  Shortening?  No thanks.    I don’t have anything against vegetable shortening, per se, I’m just skeptical.  Vegetable shortening is pure white and kind of waxy.  What vegetable has this kind of fat?  If it’s soy, I’m out.  Too many GMO issues.  Ditto corn.  I’m just at a loss to explain how a vegetable has fat that is pure white.  So, I don’t use it.

Reese’s Peanut Butter?  Eek!  Have you seen the ingredients list?

ROASTED PEANUTS; SUGAR; CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL (RAPESEED, COTTONSEED, AND SOYBEAN OILS); SALT; PEANUT OIL; MONOGLYCERIDES; MOLASSES; CORNSTARCH

Pass.  So, I subbed out lard and butter for the shortening and a “no stir” natural peanut butter for the Reese’s brand.  Jif Natural Peanut Butter has Palm Oil for the stabilizer and while that particular ingredient has environmental issues, it’s not hydrogenated.  Every ingredient can’t be completely perfect!

The result?  Well, I was really nervous.  As much as trans fat is bad for you, it does serve a purpose in the baking world.  There are entire cookies that are based on trans fats because of their specific mouth feel.  I avoid them like the plague, but was concerned with what would happen with my little cookie.  Would they crumble?  Be too dry?  Not hold the blossom?

The cookies didn’t make it more than a few days in the house.  They were actually better than the normal recipe!  The cookies were crispy on the outside, tender on the inside.  My husband, who is not a peanut butter cookie person loved these.  The kids were  scarfing these down.  Lastly, the blossom stayed in place!!  Success!!!

By using old world ingredients, I remade this cookie to be not so lethal.

Peanut Butter Blossoms
Makes 34-48 Cookies (depends on side of cookie created)

48 HERSHEY’S KISSES Brand Milk Chocolates, unwrapped (mileage may vary here, I got about 34 cookies)

¼ cup unsalted butter
¼ cup lard
¾  cup Natural, No Stir (I used Jif) Peanut Butter
1 teaspoon baking soda
⅓  cup granulated sugar
⅓  cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-½  cups all-purpose flour
½  teaspoon salt
Additional granulated sugar

    Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
    In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, lard and peanut butter.  Mix until well combined.  Add the sugars and the baking soda.  Mix well until fluffy.   Add the egg and mix.  Add the whole milk and mix again.  Add the vanilla extract and mix until all ingredients are incorporated.
    In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and the salt.   In 3 separate additions, add the flour to the sugar mix, mixing well between additions.
    Shape dough into roughly 1 inch balls.  Roll the balls in granulated sugar and placed on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.  Bake 8-10 minutes until lightly brown.
    Upon removal from the oven, immediately press a chocolate kiss in the center of the cookie.  Expect the cookie to crack.
    Remove cookies from the pan and let cool on a wire rack.
Peanut Butter Blossoms

Careful not to burn yourself while you put the kiss in the screaming hot cookie!

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Peanut Butter Cream Pie

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You’re invited to a cookout. You want to bring something, but what? You could pick something up at the local supermarket. I find those foods sort of sit because people want to try the homemade stuff first. But you are busy, right? No time for homemade. Or, maybe your cooking skills just aren’t up to where you would like them to be.

You want to take something that will be the talk of the picnic. You want to be fawned over. I get it. Who doesn’t? No one wants to be potato salad #3 at a picnic with 5 different types of potato salad.

So, I offer the following dessert: Peanut Butter Cream Pie. Why? Because, frankly, fruit desserts just aren’t my thing, with the exception of apple pie. Peanut Butter Cream Pie combines some of my favorite ingredients: cream, sugar and peanut butter. What’s not to love? It’s not like Chocolate Cream Pie, so don’t be worried about whether the pie will “set” or if you will need to serve it in bowls. If you have a mixer and a freezer, you can totally make this dessert. It’s that easy. I found this dessert years ago in New Orleans at Emeril’s. He put the recipe for it in his cookbooks and now, on his webpage. The pie is crazy easy. Combine peanut butter, cream cheese, confectioner’s (powdered or 10x) sugar and whipped cream. Pour into crumb crust. Freeze. Done. Seriously. If you want to be fancy, melt some chocolate and stripe the top of the pie.

Some caveats. This is a really rich pie, so cut the slices small. You will want to cut a hunk of pie off and eat it. Don’t. You can’t. My 10 year old son who grows 6 inches a year tried and couldn’t. Also, you need to not just like peanut butter, you need to love it.

Now, I mentioned that I was inspired by Emeril to make this recipe, and I was, but this recipe is inspired by Martha Stewart. Why? Well, Emeril called for 4 cups of cream and Martha 2. I had 2. So, the winner was Martha! Her original recipe can be found here: http://www.marthastewart.com/258413/chocolate-peanut-butter-pie

My deviations are the crust and the amount of peanut butter. I looked at a pre-made graham cracker crust, but that had trans fats. So, I was resigned to the fact that I was going to have to make a crust. I thought chocolate wafer crust would be the best, but the thought of taking the middles out of a ton of oreos made me weep. Luckily, on my travels to three different grocery stores (can’t 1 just have everything I need?), I found an oreo cookie crust with no trans fat or other terribly nasty ingredients, so I went with it. As a result, that last minute find made this recipe super easy and fast. I reduced the peanut butter by 1/4 cup just to bring a little more balance to the pie.

Peanut Butter Cream Pie
Serves 6-8
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

6 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar (sifted)
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream
1 oreo pie crust
1 ounce semisweet chocolate, melted, for decorating

Cream together the cream cheese, sugar and salt, until well combined and “fluffy”. Add the peanut butter and vanilla and beat until combined. In a separate mixing bowl, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Loosen the peanut butter mixture by folding in about a third of the whipped cream. Add the rest of the cream to the peanut butter mixture and, using a mixer with a whip attachment, whip until well combined.

Pour peanut butter mixture into oreo pie crust and freeze for about 2 hours. Place melted chocolate in a freezer bag and snip a small opening on a corner of the bag. Drizzle chocolate on the pie and serve.

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