Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

By Genevieve Ko

Published Nov. 13, 2022

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
Sang An for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
Total Time
2 hours
Rating
4(615)
Comments
Read comments

This spin on an icebox pie, with its chocolaty press-in graham cracker crust and airy no-bake peanut butter filling, comes with a sheen of fudgy glaze. A splash of coffee accentuates the dark side of the bittersweet chocolate, and salted peanuts scattered on top add crunch. As fun as a candy bar and as creamy as a cheesecake, this layered dessert looks and feels special but is simple enough for anyone to pull together. And it’s even easier to serve: The whole thing can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

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Ingredients

Yield:One 9-inch pie

    For the Crust

    • 1cup/110 grams graham cracker crumbs (from about 7 crackers)
    • ⅓cup/30 grams Dutch-processed (dark) unsweetened cocoa powder
    • ¼cup/30 grams confectioners’ sugar
    • ¼teaspoon fine salt
    • 5tablespoons/70 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled
    • Nonstick cooking spray

    For the Peanut Butter Filling

    • 1¼cups/300 grams heavy cream
    • 1cup/270 grams creamy peanut butter (see Tip)
    • 6ounces/170 grams cream cheese, softened
    • ¾cup/90 grams confectioners’ sugar
    • 2teaspoons pure vanilla extract
    • ¼teaspoon fine sea or table salt

    For the Chocolate Glaze

    • 6tablespoons/85 grams heavy cream
    • 4ounces/113 grams bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
    • 2tablespoons hot brewed coffee or hot water
    • 2teaspoons light corn syrup
    • ¼cup/40 grams roasted, salted peanuts
Ingredient Substitution Guide
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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the crust: Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the crumbs, cocoa powder, confectioners’ sugar and salt in a medium bowl until well combined. Drizzle the butter over and mix with a fork or your fingers until the mixture is evenly moistened.

  2. Step 2

    Coat a standard 9-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray. Spread the crumb mixture in an even layer across the bottom. Press the crumbs firmly into the bottom and up the sides to form a crust. Bake until it feels dry to the touch and smells toasty, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

  3. Step 3

    Make the filling: Whisk the cream with a stand or hand mixer (or by hand, which will take quite some time and energy) until stiff peaks form. Beat the peanut butter, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and salt (with an electric mixer or by hand) until well blended and smooth. Gently stir the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture until fully incorporated. It’s OK if the cream deflates.

  4. Step 4

    Spread the peanut butter filling in an even layer over the cooled pie crust. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    Make the glaze: Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Turn off the heat and add the chocolate. Let sit for 30 seconds, then stir slowly until the chocolate melts. Add the coffee and corn syrup, and stir until smooth.

  6. Step 6

    Take the pie out of the freezer. Slowly pour the chocolate glaze all over the top of the pie. Tilt the pie plate if needed to evenly coat the top. Scatter the peanuts on top. Let stand until the top sets, about 15 minutes. Slice and serve, or refrigerate for up to 3 days before slicing.

Tip
  • Be sure to use standard peanut butter that includes sweeteners, fats and salt. Natural peanut butter, with only peanuts and salt, won’t work in this recipe.

Ratings

4 out of 5
615 user ratings
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Comments

Barb

I have a version of this but with a chocolate crumb crust. The family goes crazy over it. It freeze as well which is great because it's very rich you can only eat a little bit at a time. Also I finally chopped peanuts and make a border rather than sprinkling whole peanuts on top as in the picture.

J.H.C.

If anyone can come up with an adaptation that uses natural peanut butter, please share! Thanks.

Jim

I am sure the 6 ounces is not by weight, but liquid ounces. I think most Philadelphia-type cream cheese comes in an 8 ounce block...3/4 would be 6 ounces.

NKMiles

Came together very easily and used the other 2 oz. of cream cheese (from the 8 oz package for an appetizer. My one item that I added to Notes for next time is to use a deeper dish pie plate. The pie was already at the top level before adding the sauce so some sauce dribbled off.

Laura

This. Is. Amazing. We ate at a restaurant called Tasha Lee’s kitchen in Anacortes, Washington this fall. The waitress recommended the peanut butter pie and it’s one of the best desserts I’ve ever had. Since then, I’ve been searching for a recipe that could come close. This wins with some adjustments. I made an Oreo cookie crust, doubling the amount called for in graham crackers. I added the Dutch cocoa without thinking about it, but that turned out to be a happy accident. I used salted butter in addition to the salt called for, but no confectioners sugar. I had about 2 cups of the crumb mixture and that worked perfectly in a standard pipe plate. I made the filling exactly as described, but added nearly a teaspoon of table salt. I used Jif peanut butter. For the chocolate topping, I used a ganache recipe meant to create a heavier/harder chocolate, which was about 10 oz 60% cacao chocolate chips (1 bag) to 3/4 cup heavy cream. No nuts needed. I set the entire thing in the freezer overnight and OMG delicious. The crust is very dark and buttery and not too sweet. The filling is rich, silky and has the perfect, not cloyingly sweet taste. The top is dense and has a different chocolate profile from the crust and a different texture than the filling. Everyone in my family loved it.

Barbara

Very good! Rich, but not too sweet. I swapped the corn syrup for maple syrup which worked well. I did not care for the powdered sugar in the crust, next time I will use regular cane sugar. I also used a food processor for the crust which was quick and easy. Tastes like a peanut butter cup.

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