This deep dish Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie has a chocolate cookie crust, a thin layer of chocolate ganache, and a thick SILKY layer of peanut butter mousse embellished by whipped cream, chocolate ganache and peanut butter cups!
You are going to HATE me for this, but you know what’s been going through my head all day today? Imagine this little ditty, if you will, sung to the tune of Rebecca Black’s “Friday”:
“It’s Pi Day, Pi Day, gotta eat pie on Pi Day, everybody’s looking forward to eating, eating. Eating pie, eating pie, yeah! Eating pie, eating pie, yeah! Yum yum yum yum, looking forward to eating pieeeee!”
You’re welcome.
Horrible earworms aside, isn’t Pi Day a fabulous idea? It takes a mundane day and a mathematical concept that holds absolutely no interest for me and somehow combines them to make a magical time where it’s appropriate—even encouraged!—to glutton out and feast on some mid-week pie. Yes please.
I actually made two pies for Pi Day, but I’ll be posting them separately for maximum Rebecca Black quoting opportunities. (Update: here’s the other one! Lime Coconut Pie) This first is a deep-dish Peanut Butter Pie. This baby has a chocolate cookie crust, a thin layer of whipped chocolate ganache, and a thick layer of peanut butter mousse. It’s topped with ganache, whipped cream, chopped peanuts, and peanut butter cups.
The whole thing was delicious, but the real star was the light, silky peanut butter layer. Traditional peanut butter pies are often made with Cool Whip (yuck) and cream cheese. We’re not big cheesecake lovers in this house, so I wanted to avoid creating anything that might resemble a peanut butter cheesecake. Instead, I used whipped cream and mascarpone cheese in the mousse, for a light, delicate texture that melts in the mouth. If you like light and silky, be sure to check out this delectable Chocolate Tiramisu and these fun and delicious Cannoli Cones.
Be warned that this pie is INTENSE. A small slice goes a long way! You could easily get 12-16 servings out of a 9” springform pan, so either invite all of your favorite friends over to feast on it, or be prepared to celebrate Pi Day all week long. Rebecca Black songs optional.
🥜 More Peanut Recipes You’ll Love
- Snickers Cupcakes
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Milkshakes
- Peanut Butter Cup Banana Cake
- Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cake
- Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
- Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream
- Mega Stuffed Peanut Butter Cups
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake
Almond Joy Boston Cream Pie
Candy Bar Cheesecake
Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Ganache:
- 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chopped
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 2 TBSP light corn syrup
For the Crust:
- 12 oz Oreo cookies (about 26 cookies)
- 2 oz unsalted butter (4 TBSP)
For the Peanut Butter Mousse:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter not natural variety
- 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 8 oz mascarpone cheese
To Garnish (optional):
- Whipped cream
- Peanuts chopped
- Mini peanut butter cups
- Chocolate ganache for drizzling
Instructions
- 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.
Measuring Tips
Our recipes are developed using weight measurements, and we highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking whenever possible. However, if you prefer to use cups, volume measurements are provided as well. PLEASE NOTE: the adage “8 oz = 1 cup” is NOT true when speaking about weight, so don’t be concerned if the measurements don’t fit this formula.
Want to learn more about baking measurements and conversion?
I’m making this later today for my hubby’s bday tomorrow. Just a question about the Oreos. Did you remove the creme and just process the cookie or did the whole cookie get pulsed up?
Sorry for the delayed response! Hope it’s not too late. I actually left the Oreos whole and didn’t remove the cream from the inside…faster, easier, and works great.
Hi Elizabeth! I just wanted to let you know that I made this pie and talked about your blog and my delicious results on my blog today! You can check it out here: http://williamskitchen.blogspot.com/2012/04/peanut-butter-chocolate-pie.html
Thanks for the head’s up! Your pie looked awesome. And from now on I am going to work “slap yo mama” into my regular food writing rotation.
Made this last night in preparation for my birthday today! It’s currently in the fridge awaiting release from the springform pan… any tips on a neat release? I haven’t used my springform with a side crust before and am worried the yummy oreos are going to get left behind when I open this up! Normally I run a knife around the edge, but I’m afraid I’ll break the crust.
Well, this is only the most beautiful looking pie EVER.
I know it been a while since you posted this but just wondering why no natural peanut butter? That’s the only kind we eat in my house. Is it just a texture thing?
Hi Christy,
The problem is that natural peanut butters are just less consistent. Because they don’t have the emulsifiers that ‘regular’ pb does, some natural varieties may cause the mixture to separate or have a coarse or grainy texture. So to ensure the most consistent results, I recommend against it–I’d hate for someone to not have their pie turn out and lose all those ingredients. It’s very possible that your pb might work out fine, but it’s hard to know without trying the recipe with that specific brand.
[PS When I eat peanut butter plain–on sandwiches etc–I only eat natural pb, but I do keep the ‘regular’ stuff around for baking and candy purposes. It works out pretty well that way!]
TO DIE FOR. Love this!
Hey! I want to make this pie for a bake off at school, but the problem is, they can’t be refrigerated there. So could I store it in the fridge over night and it still be good by the end of the next day? It is going to be sitting on a table for the whole school day, and I don’t want anyone to get food poisoning.
Thanks!
Hi Grace! I don’t think you’d really give anyone food poisoning after a school day at room temperature, but I still don’t think this pie is a good choice. It tends to get pretty soft if it’s held at room temp for long periods and I just think the texture wouldn’t be great after a day of sitting out. Sorry! I hope you’re able to try it another time. 🙂
Thanks for replying!! Do you think that if I added some gelatin to the peanut butter mixture or left out most of the whipped cream it would hold up better? I really want to make this pie haha!! 🙂
I think a little bit of gelatin might help, and also swapping full-fat cream cheese (the bar kind, not the whipped kind) for the mascarpone would probably be the biggest help. If you do use cream cheese you might want to add a little more sugar because it’s not as mild as mascarpone–that’s optional though. If you use cream cheese and add a bit of gelatin and if the room isn’t too hot, you’ll probably be fine! Let me know how it goes. 🙂
This pie was amazing! I doubled the recipe and made 2 as I wanted to make one for a friend, but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to also have some. The PB mousse is absolutely divine. Not too heavy or too sweet. It came together really easily too. I froze them immediately as I needed to travel with them the next day and this didn’t affect the flavour or consistency. Definitely something I’ll keep in my recipe book and make again.
I’m looking for a peanut butter pie with an almost cheesecake like consistency. Not a fan of Cool Whip type.
Would this be the more substantial consistency?