Peanut Butter Pie

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This is a recipe that my aunt would always make for family gatherings. It was always a treat because she was the only one who could make it… until now :).

Once she told me how to make it, it was amazing on how EASY this recipe is. There is an even easier way, but of course, I wanted to make the vanilla pudding portion from scratch…

Michigan Ingredient

Michigan Ingredient: Graham Crackers and Sugar

Seriously how great is it that a “generic” brand is Michigan based? Save money and it’s from Michigan…? SIGN ME UP!!

Peanut Butter Pie

First things first, imagine me beating a whole sleeve of graham crackers in a zip-lock bag to crush them. Of course you could use a food processor… but what is the fun in that (plus.. more dishes to clean, yuck).  Take your graham cracker crumbs and combine them with your sugar.

Peanut Butter Pie

Take your melted butter and pour it into your graham cracker and sugar mixture. Use a fork (as the butter might still be hot) and combine. Press into your pie plate.

Peanut Butter Pie

Make sure you press the crust up toward the top for sides, as with any pudding pie, it will help with keep the pie intact. Refrigerate the crust for at least an hour before pouring any filling in.

Peanut Butter Pie

After said hour has passed, combine your sugar, corn starch, and salt in a sauce pan.

Peanut Butter Pie

Combine your milk and two egg yolks in a separate bowl.

Peanut Butter Pie

Pour the milk/egg yolk mixture into your sugar mixture while stirring. You want to try and avoid clumps, so please stir (whisk) constantly.

Peanut Butter Pie

Bring mixture to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat.

Peanut Butter Pie

Add your vanilla and butter and stir.

Peanut Butter Pie

NOW! Add that beautiful peanut butter. It may seem like it is difficult to get it to combine, but be patient as it will combine completely.

Peanut Butter Pie

Doesn’t that just look amazing. It was hard to keep my husband away from just taking spoonfuls (myself included, who am I kidding). You can just eat this as pudding if you want… BUT since we already made the crust, let’s pour it in.

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We like to drizzle chocolate syrup and have some whip cream on top for this pie. I would recommend having the pie chill for at least 2 hours.  I noticed that sometimes 2 hours is enough… but sometimes you need to have it chill  overnight so that the “shape” of the piece of pie stays intact. Of course, the first piece is always a doozy. Either way, this pie is amazing and…. as my father always says… it all eats the same 🙂

Peanut Butter Pie
 
Author:
Serves: 8
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
 
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
  • 1½ cups of Graham Crackers, crushed (about 1 sleeve)
  • ⅓ cup of Sugar
  • 6 tablespoons of Melted Butter
Peanut Butter Pie Filling
  • ⅓ cup of Sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of Corn Starch
  • ⅛ teaspoon of Salt
  • 2 cups of Milk
  • 2 Egg Yolks, slightly beaten
  • 2 tablespoons of Butter, softened
  • 2 teaspoons of Vanilla
  • 1 cup Peanut Butter
Instructions
Graham Cracker Crust
  1. Crush your graham crackers and combine with sugar.
  2. Melt the butter and pour into the graham cracker/sugar mixture. Use a fork and stir to combine.
  3. Press the mixture into your pie plate. Make sure the crust goes up the sides to assist the filling.
Peanut Butter Pie Filling
  1. Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt into a 2qt. sauce pan.
  2. In a bowl, combine the milk and egg yolks. Pour the mixture into the sugar/corn starch mixture while whisking to avoid clumps.
  3. Bring mixture to a boil while whisking constantly. Boil for one minute and remove from heat.
  4. Add softened butter and vanilla and stir. Add peanut butter and stir until it is well incorporated into the mixture.
  5. Pour filling into graham cracker crust and chill for at least 2 hours.

 

Classic Pie Crust

Pie Crust

My family always says that if you are going to be making a pie from scratch, please… for all that is holy… make your crust from scratch. It is amazingly simple and the wait time is minimal. Don’t be intimidated to make your own pie crust.

You don’t necessarily have to have any special tools to make a pie crust, but if you have a pastry cutter, that helps;  however, you can always use the two fork method (or one fork).

This is a recipe that is from the “red book.” My parents have this Betty Crocker book that has amazing and classic recipes. I believed my mom told me that it was a wedding gift; which is a gift that continues to keep on giving, let me tell you. That is one thing that is amazing about cooking; you can share that joy with the ones you love. Have you ever gone to a cook-out that did not have food? NO! Whenever you plan a party, you always think of … food. Food is a conversational piece, an ice breaker, something that we (as human beings) all have in common; I mean you gotta eat right?

So when you are thinking about what to make for this wonderful 4th of July weekend, think of making pie. My family uses this recipe for apple pie, rhubarb pie, cherry pie, etc. In my family, we always do double crusted pies because, I mean come on; it helps keep the deliciousness inside.  I hope this will become your go to recipe as well.

Please note that when I was making this pie crust, I was chasing light as it was starting to storm outside.

Michigan Item

Michigan Ingredient: Meijer Flour

I know, I know… a bit of a stretch, but there are not many ingredients necessary for this crust. It’s usually what’s inside that counts.

In Michigan, there are two types of pie that every woman needs to know how to make: apple  pie and cherry pie. Trust me, I will help you with being able to tackle both… [insert foreshadowing now…]

Pie Crust

First things first, measure out your flour and salt and combine in a bowl.

Pie Crust

EXPERT TIP!! Before you measure your shortening, spray your measuring cups with non-stick spray to assist with stick-age (<– not a word… but how else would you describe it). Yes, there will be a little bit that sticks, BUT not nearly as much if you did not spray your measuring cups with non-stick spray.

Pie Crust

Pie Crust

Drop your shortening in your flour mixture and “cut” the shortening into the flour. You will do this until the mixture looks like pea-sized crumbs (like below)

Pie Crust

You could do this in a food processor; I’ve seen people do it, but the nostalgia of making a pie crust the “old fashioned” way is the way I prefer to do it.

Pie Crust

Add your ice water to the mixture and combine. You can use a spoon, but sometimes you just need to use the tools that god gave ya (your hands) and get in there and get messy. I would recommend that you remove any jewelry.

Pie Crust

Once the dough is combined, divide in half, and shape into round discs. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, put them in a gallon-sized zip-lock bag,  and place them in the freezer for at least 2 hours.

Pie Crust

When you  are ready to use the dough, I would recommend trying to roll the dough while it is wrapped in the clear plastic wrap. It makes it so you don’t have to use flour and then run into the chance of the dough having a slight flour taste. ALSO! Transfer is a snap!

Pie Crust

Try to roll it out into as much of a circle as possible. I would recommend having your pie plate out so that you can eyeball how much you need to roll the dough out.

Pie Crust

Repeat with the second disc of dough of rolling it out.

Fill the pie with your favorite filling and top with the second crust.  Trim and crimp the edges and set aside the excess dough (I’ll tell you what to do with the excess dough on Thursday). Once you are ready to bake, brush the top with a beaten egg to help get that “golden” look.

Classic Pie Crust
 
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Serves: 2 crusts
Prep time:
Total time:
 
A classic pie crust recipe that you can use for your favorite pie recipes!
Ingredients
  • 3⅓ cups of Flour
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1¼ cups of Shortening
  • 8-9 tablespoons of Ice Water
Instructions
  1. Combine your flour and salt in a bowl.
  2. Spray your measuring cups with cooking spray; measure your shortening and scoop into the flour.
  3. Use either a pastry cutter or two forks and "cut" the shortening into the flour until it resembles pea sized crumbs.
  4. Pour 8 tablespoons of ice water into the mixture. If it combines easy, you do not need more water. If it seems like it is a bit difficult to combine, add the remaining tablespoon of water.
  5. Once the pie dough is combined, cut the dough in half and shape into round discs. Place the dough in the freezer for a couple of hours.
  6. When you are ready to use the dough, take the discs out of the freezer and roll out (as best as you can) into 9 or 10 inch circles and fill with your favorite filling. Trim and crimp the edges. Set aside the excess dough.
  7. When you are ready to bake, you can brush the crust with a beaten egg to help achieve the "golden" look.
Notes
Recipe from Betty Crocker