Friday, August 19, 2011

Spoil Yourself With My Homemade Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pie!

 piece of my My Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pie.jpeg
How about a piece of my Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pie?

The weekend is nearly here and calls for some decadent dessert to celebrate all the days in between of healthier eating habits.   Today, I made the most delicious Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pie from scratch that is simple and the perfect marriage of flavors with scrumptious peanut goodness  and dark velvety chocolate custard topped with a fluffy meringue cloud.

Most cream-pies do not get topped with meringue.  However, I am not like most other people.  All my cream pies get meringue piled high on each because that extra tasty fluff compliments the pie so much more, but also because I'm thrifty and use everything I have without waste!  

Of course, I could save the egg whites for an omelet, bread, pasta dough or even an angel food cake.  But for that few extra seconds it takes to whip up meringue, you will take that typical creamy pie into a dessert sensation.  On the other hand, if you have other intentions for those egg whites do use them as you see fit since this pie is also very yummy plain as well.

As always, I only make my oil pie crust.  Honestly, if you are afraid to make pie dough because of past failures, then you need to try this easy recipe that I guarantee this will come out like you're a champion baker.  This recipe is the only pie crust dough that you never need to worry about handling too much that will result in a tough crust like a typical shortening version, which can be tricky.  Once you do try this crust, you will fall in love with  how simple and flaky the crust will be while discovering you can turn this dough into a potpie crust, quiche crust, or this dessert crust.

My Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pie

3 egg yolks
pinch of salt
2-1/2 cups of milk
3/4 cup of sugar
2-1/2 heaping tablespoons of cornstarch
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup of peanut butter
1 baked 9-inch pie shell

Take out your eggs first and let sit at room temperature to warm before attempting to separate the yolks from the whites.  Separate the whites into a separate mixing bowl.  Drop your yolks into your pot with your 2 cups of milk, sugar, cocoa, peanut butter and salt and warm first before mixing your cornstarch into the remaining 1/2 cup of milk, stirring and then adding to the pot.  Cook this until thickened.  Add vanilla last once it is off the heat.


Pour into your baked shell and pile on the meringue. 


My Meringue
whole Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pie.jpeg
This is how my Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pie looks uncut.

3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup of sugar

Beat the egg whites with the salt until stiff.  Gradually add the sugar and beat it in using about a tablespoon at a time.  Caution is the rule here. (If you add the sugar all at once, then you will destroy your meringue.)  Pile the stiffly beaten meringue into your filled baked shell and bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes or until delicately browned.