Peanut Butter Cup Pie

I work with an attorney who has access to really great tickets to my alma mater's football games.  He also LOVES Peanut Butter Cups and pie.  So I combined the best chocolate pie filling I've got with the best peanut butter filling I've found and  made him a custom PB Cup pie.  (This recipe actually makes two pies - so I had one take to work for him and one for my family to enjoy.  Win/win).  This pie was  a hit at work, everybody who got to try it loved it.  And if my bribe was successful I should be enjoying the homecoming game from the 50 yard line next week :-)

Kirk's Peanut Butter Cup Pie

2 Nine or Ten inch pie shells.  I used pastry, but a graham cracker or cookie crust would be fantastic as well.

Chocolate layer:
3/4 cup softened butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 oz. baking chocolate, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs

• Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 
• Beat in the chocolate and vanilla. 
• Add the eggs one at a time, beating each for four minutes (this step is very important to get the silky texture you want in this layer).
• Spoon half the chocolate filling into each pie shell and refrigerate while you prepare the peanut butter layer.

Peanut butter layer:
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
8 oz frozen whipped topping, thawed

• Beat the peanut butter, cream cheese and sugar together until smooth.
• Fold in the whipped topping.
• Divide the mixture between the two pie shells, layering it on top of the chocolate.
• Top with chopped up mini peanut butter cups.
• Refrigerate at least three hours before serving.

 

Snickerbutters

After this week's time change, my  husband was a very sleepy guy.  Because of the effect of "springing forward" on the computers at his job he was up most of the night, but still got up for church in the morning.  He really earned a Sunday afternoon nap.  While he snoozed in a chair I thought it would be nice to make his favorite cookies to show my appreciation for what a hard working guy he is. He really loves Snickerdoodles so I happily started to get everything out to make them,  then discovered that I was out of the cream of tartar those cookies require. We did have some peanut butter on the shelf so I decided that peanut butter cookies would still make him a happy man when he woke up.  As I mixed the dough I realized that there was no reason  the cinnamon-sugar coating that makes Snickerdoodles so yummy shouldn't be delightful with peanut butter too.  The result was these cookies that my eleven year-old son named "Snickerbutters".  These were a  hit with both of my guys.

SNICKERBUTTERS

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1-1/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cinnamon sugar

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Beat together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter, shortening, butter and egg.  Stir in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
• Shape the dough into balls and roll in the cinnamon sugar.  Place on ungreased baking pan and bake for 10 minutes.

A non-pie treat for National Pie Day

National Pie Day should be a day of pie baking, right?  But instead I spent today at the Utah Capitol building with my husband and am going to the movies with three of my girls in the evening - so there's no pie making around here today.  But I would like to share this fast and easy treat for anybody who needs a good sugar injection on a snowy day.   I took it to an evening of sewing at My Girlfriend's Quilt Shoppe in Logan, Utah and the ladies there really liked it.

Peanut butter and Butterscotch Marshmallow Treats

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 bag butterscotch baking chips

1 stick butter

1 bag miniature marshmallows (colored are more fun than plain white - but you can use either)

Melt the peanut butter, chips and butter in a saucepan over low heat.  Stir while melting and until the mixture is smooth. 

Let cool for 15 minutes (so that the marshmallows won't melt).

Spread into a greased 9x13 pan.

Refrigerate until set.  Ideally this will be at least a couple of hours....if you can wait that long!

Peanut Butter Pie

I can't remember what kind of recipe I was looking for when I stumbled upon this one online.  It looked and sounded so good that I stopped and jotted it down (printer's not working) and probably never did get back on track for what I was originally searching for.  I made it for my family this week and it was very popular with all of us.  I made it in a regular pastry shell, since I always have ingredients for that on hand, but the recipe calls for a graham cracker crust.  If you use a store-bought graham cracker crust this amount of filling would make two pies.  This would be super good in a chocolate cookie crust.  I think that's how I'll do it next time I make it.

PEANUT BUTTER PIE


1 cooked pie shell
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups whipped cream (or 8 oz. whipped topping, if you must)
chocolate syrup for garnish
2 large peanut butter cups, frozen

• Beat together the cream cheese and brown sugar until smooth.
• Blend in the peanut butter, milk and vanilla.
• Stir in half of the whipped cream with a spatula, then gently fold in the rest.
• Spoon into the pie crust, then cut the peanut butter cups into chunks and sprinkle over the top of the pie.
• Chill at least 2 hours.
• Drizzle with chocolate syrup before serving.