Tell Someone You Love Them No Bake Peanut Butter Pie

For those of you who may not know this, I love reading food blogs. My discovery of the purpose of Google Reader has saved my life (as well as lots of time). I am probably not a good blog follower. I do not write responses very often or “like” them. I just read them. Some make me laugh. Some inspire me with new recipe ideas. Occasionally, I do write in my own blog about something we made with a link to the original author. My poor cookbooks feel neglected as I often find it easier to search for a recipe I have read about online.

I am also always fascinated by online friendship culture. I read about bloggers who are great friends with other bloggers even though they have never met in person. It is clear there is a great support system out there if you seek it out. I stay in the shadows and do my own thing, and I am cool with that. Yesterday, though, I witnessed something beautiful that made me cry and tear up again and again. It also inspired me to contribute to the food blog community myself.

Innocently, I clicked on a post for No Bake Peanut Butter Pie. I love peanut butter. Although, we have not dealt with the blistering heat of the rest of the country, our lack of AC and good ventilation makes our little apartment pretty toasty when we fire up the oven (and all I seem to want to do lately is make stuff that requires the oven, go figure). So, my point being, I thought it might be a fun recipe to make this weekend that would not require heating up the apartment.

Then began the tearing up. The post was in honor of a fellow blogger who lost her husband to sudden massive heart attack last weekend. The full on crying began when I went to Jennie’s blog. She wrote about her and her husband’s last date and her intention for quite some time to make him his favorite dessert, Peanut Butter Pie. And sadly, she did not get this chance.

Shit. Not what I expected to encounter in the rare little pocket of free time I had to enjoy on my Friday morning. So, there I sat stunned and in tears. She wrote asking everyone to make Peanut Butter Pie on Friday and share it with someone they love. By the time I got home, my Google Reader was filled with bloggers and their version of Peanut Butter Pie as a tribute to Jennie and Mikey. I don’t know Jennie. I don’t even follow her blog. But I was blown away by the love and support demonstrated by her fellow food bloggers… some of who clearly had some sort of friendship with her, and some, like me, who just feel the need to honor Jennie and her request.

So, it isn’t Friday. If you had been my shadow on Friday, you would know why I am a Sunday pie participant. It’s the thought that counts, right??

My other takeaway from this unexpected experience is that I am bad about making sure my loved ones know I care. For someone so filled with empathy, I am terrible at expressing my feelings and my emotions. I am not good at giving consistent and regular assurance of love and appreciation to most of my dear friends. I just assume that they know I care about them since I keep them as friends. I guess I need to work on that. I also want to make sure that I am enjoying each and every day and being thankful for the experiences it brings me, whether they are good or bad. So this pie is dedicated to all of those special people in my life.

If you are now wanting your own Peanut Butter Pie inspiration or are just curious about how many people really cared enough to make their own, check out Picky Palate’s blog as she has compiled many others who were part of the Peanut Butter Pie memorial. I decided to just go with what Mikey had loved and used Jennie’s recipe. My only changes were leaving out the chopped peanuts and the chocolate drizzle on top.

No-Bake Creamy Peanut Butter Pie

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Prep Time: 30 minutes

For the Crust:
8 ounces Oreo cookies, crushed into fine crumbs
Pinch of salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
4 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup chopped peanuts

For the Filling:
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice

To Finish:
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vegetable shortening

1. In a medium bowl, combine the Oreo crumbs, pinch of salt and melted butter, tossing with a fork until the crumbs are all evenly moistened. Press into the bottom and about 1-inch up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes.

2. While crust is in the freezer, place the 4 ounces of chocolate chips into a small bowl. In a small saucepan set over medium-high heat, bring the ½ cup of heavy cream to a full boil. Pour over the chocolate chips, let it sit a minute, and then stir gently with a rubber spatula until completely smooth and glossy. Pour over the bottom of the crust, tilting the pan or using an offset spatula to ensure it covers the entire bottom. Sprinkle with the chopped peanuts. Place pan in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

3. Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, whip the 1 cup of heavy cream on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Transfer the whipped cream to a medium bowl and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

4. Again using an electric mixer, this time with a paddle attachment (or regular beaters if using a hand mixer), cream together the peanut butter and cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the powdered sugar. Once it is all added, scrape the sides of the bowl and beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds to completely incorporate. Add the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract and lemon juice and beat at medium speed until everything is completely combined and smooth.

5. Using a rubber spatula, stir in about 1/3 of the whipped cream to lighten the mixture. Very gently, fold in the remaining whipped cream until no streaks of whipped cream remain. Pour the filling into the prepared crust.

6. In a microwave on 50% power, melt the 1/3 cup of chocolate chips with the shortening in 30 second bursts, stirring after each one, until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Using a spoon or pastry bag, drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of the pie filling.

7. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours (or overnight) before serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

(Recipe adapted from In Jennie’s Kitchen)