Peanut Butter Pie

If you love peanut butter, you’ll adore this pie. The crust is a breezeto make and the filling whips up in next to no time.

MAKES: one 9-inch pie; 10 servings

PREP TIME: 30 minutes

CHILLING TIME: at least 5 ½ hours

COOKING TIME: about 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

CRUST

• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup firmly packed dark brown or demerara-style sugar
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
• 2 to 3 Tbsp ice water

FILLING

• 1 pkg (8 oz/250 g) brick-style cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup icing sugar, sifted
• ¾ cup smooth peanut butter, at room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• 1 ¼ cups whipping cream (35%)
• ½ cup chopped roasted salted peanuts

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. For the brown sugar pie crust, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
2. Add the butter to the flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter or your hands, work it in until pea-size lumps of butter are just visible.
3. Add 2 tablespoonfuls of the water. Stir with a fork until the dough comes together in a shaggy ball. Add a little more water if the dough is dry. Don’t overwork the dough, or the pastry will be tough.
4. On a lightly floured work surface, knead the dough gently until it comes together. Pat it out into a disc, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then refrigerate for 1 hour.
5. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough and line a 9-inch pie dish (see this page). Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
6. Bake the pie crust blind (see this page). Let cool completely.
7. For the filling, in a large bowl and using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese with the icing sugar until smooth. Beat in the peanut butter, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth.
8. In a medium bowl and using clean beaters, beat the whipping cream until it holds stiff peaks.
9. Fold 1 cup of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture, reserving the remaining whipped cream.
10. Spoon the peanut butter filling into the prepared pie crust, smoothing the surface level. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours, or up to 3 days. Refrigerate the reserved whipped cream until ready to serve.
11. When ready to serve, swirl the reserved whipped cream over the top of the pie, then sprinkle with the chopped peanuts.