July 21, 2021 (updated August 20, 2023) by Zoë François | pie, recipe
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This chocolate peanut butter pie recipe is oh-so delicious. With a graham cracker crust, a smooth peanut butter filling made with cream cheese, a layer of chocolate ganache, and a whipped cream and candied peanut topping, this dessert is deluxe and irresistible. Be sure to chill your chocolate peanut butter pie for two hours or overnight before serving. If you’d like these into cute little mini pies, here’s a version I created for the Cooking Channel.
I typically like to mix up the flavors and styles of the desserts I make on my website, so it is super unusual for me to make two peanut butter and chocolate treats in a row. But, I just loved the Peanut Butter Cup Meringues I recently made and it set off a craving for this pie. Maybe it is the comfort food aspect as we enter into fall and the chilly weather has me hunkering for something rich, smooth and satisfying.
You can watch me make this luscious pie in my instagram video and the recipe follows.
Do you have pie questions or need to troubleshoot your recipe? Check out my guide onhow to make pie crust.
Pie-Making Equipment
Below are affiliate links to the equipment I used to make my chocolate peanut butter pie.
Cuisinart Food Processor
Stand Mixer
Rosle Stainless Steel and Silicone Spatula
Offset Spatula
Balloon Whisk
9-inch Pie Plate by Emile Henry
Silicone Baking Mat
Chef’s Knife
Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
This peanut butter pie recipe is oh-so delicious. With a graham cracker crust, a smooth peanut butter filling made with cream cheese, a layer of chocolate ganache, and a whipped cream and candied peanut topping, this dessert is deluxe and irresistible. Be sure to chill this pie for two hours or overnight before serving.
5 from 8 votes
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Course: pie
Cuisine: Desserts
Author: Zoë François
Equipment
Ingredients
Crust
- 12 (185g) whole graham crackers
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 5 tbsp (71g) unsalted butter, melted
- pinch salt
- 2 oz (57g) milk chocolate melted, for painting on the finished crust
Filling
- 8 oz (227g) cream cheese softened
- 1 cup (260g) smooth or chunky peanut butter
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 14-ounce (396g) can sweetened condensed milk
- 3 tbsp sour cream creme fraiche or Greek yogurt will also work
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice*
- 4 oz (113g) milk chocolate melted and cooled to room temperature
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy whipping cream whipped to stiff peaks
Chocolate Ganache
- ½ cup (120ml) heavy whipping cream
- 4 oz (113g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
Candied Peanuts
- 1 cup (128g) salted peanuts
- ¼ cup (50g) sugar
Whipped Cream Topping
- 1 1/2 cups (350ml) heavy whipping cream whipped to stiff peaks for top of pie**
Instructions
Graham Cracker Crust
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grind the graham crackers, brown sugar, butter and salt together until it is uniform and sticks together when squeezed. Dump it into a 9-Inch Pie Dish and press the crust into an even crust. Bake for 15 minutes, until set and toasted. Allow to cool.
Paint with the melted milk chocolate. Chill the crust to set the chocolate for about 10 minutes.
Filling
Beat the cream cheese in a stand mixer on medium speed using the paddle attachment, until it is light and fluffy. Add the peanut butter and confectioners’ sugar; continue beating on low speed for about 1 minute. Add the condensed milk, sour cream, vanilla and lemon juice, mix until smooth. Add the melted and cooled milk chocolate and mix until evenly distributed. Fold in half the whipped cream to lighten the batter, and then fold in the remaining cream until it is evenly distributed.
Pour into the chilled crust. Place the pie into the refrigerator to chill uncovered for about an hour.
Chocolate Ganache
In a small sauce pot heat the heavy cream on low to a gentle simmer. Turn off the heat and add the chopped chocolate, swirl together gently and then let it sit for one minute. Gently whisk until smooth. Allow to cool slightly, spoon the ganache over the chilled peanut butter filling. Return the pies to the refrigerator to chill for another hour.
Candied Peanuts
In a large skillet mix together the raw peanuts, sugar and salt. Cook over medium-low heat until the sugar begins to melt and the nuts start to toast slightly, stirring constantly. Once the sugar starts to melt, turn the heat to low and cook until the nuts are lightly caramelized. The mixture may smoke a little, as they get darker.
Pour the nuts onto a Silicone Baking Mat to cool. Once they are cool, you can chop them into small pieces or leave them whole.
Once the pie is thoroughly chilled (about 2 hours or overnight) top with the whipped cream and candied peanuts.
Notes
*Don’t skip the lemon juice in the filling! Adding a bit of acid helps balance the sweetness of the pie and helps to set the proteins so it sets up well.
**I left the whipped cream for the topping unsweetened, since the pie is pretty sweet, but you can add a teaspoon or two of confectioners’ sugar if you prefer.
Want to make these as individual mini pies? Check out this recipe I developed for The Cooking Channel.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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Like I said on facebook. I just want to kiss you right now, hehe 🙂
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A beautiful and perfect pie. Thanks for sharing it Zoe. Today is a tough day, but it is amazing to see all the support.
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Beautiful post and recipe Zoe. You have such a kind and generous heart!
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That is one tempting looking pie, Zoe. I love the little individual ones. What a gift that would be to receive! You have blessed Jennifer and Mikey with your talent and this lovely post.
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Your photos are mouth watering! The close up shows a texture that makes me think of PB ice cream!
And the individual portions are awesome.Reply
Gosh, I am so sorry to hear about Mikey. But what a beautiful thing Jennie has decided to do and your tribute is absolutely gorgeous.
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What a truly dreamy pie! I can’t wait to try it myself… and a lovely way to pay tribute to Jennie and her family.
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Wonderful post Zoe, I love how the food community is coming together to support Jennie and her family.
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nicely done.
wonderful post indeed.Reply
Beautiful pie Zoe… simply beautiful!
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I made two of them yesterday using Jennie’s recipe, tweaked the crust on the second one a little. My 19 year old daughter and I even made them together! Shared the first one last night after we got back from seeing a play, my husband took the second one to work with him today. For the second one, I made a little extra crust, then put them in two 8×8 pans for my husband to take to work today. I had the day off, so he took both!
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Your version sounds divine. I’m going to add it to the original (Jennie’s version) for future reference.
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Beautiful post, Zoe. Wonderful recipe. I´ll share the love for Mikey and Jennifer.
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What a wonderful, personal spin on this touching movement. (And the pie, of course, looks and sounds fantastic – particularly the individually sized ones with the oreo crust!) It is so life-affirming to see how the food blogging community has responded to this terrible tragedy. For me, it represents the positive potential the internet has to remind us of what truly matters outside of cyberspace: love and compassion for our families, friends, and community.
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her last post is poignant.
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Yum! Killer post.
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Lovely. The individual pies are so cute!
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Help! I am in the middle of making the crust and the instructions don’t mention the cream…I guess I’ll just add it and hope for the best 🙂
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Hi Carrie,
Oh my, sorry! Good thing it doesn’t really matter on this one and it can be added just about any time. Hope all went well!
Enjoy, Zoë
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Weird question Zoe, but do you use just one of the disks for the crust or both?
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Hi Pat,
Great question, I use only one and save the other. You can keep it in the refrigerator for a couple of days or freeze it.
Thanks, Zoë
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I have seen so many people bake for Mikey – what a wonderful bloggers world we are in….My mum and I are just loving this..I cook and take pictures and half write the blogs she finishes them and together we are a team….
Great cakeReply
Hi Zoe,
I just found your blog and I have to say YOU ARE AWESOME! Also your book, ABI5 is incredible. My husband, who doesn’t like sweets, is thrilled that I’m finally baking things he can enjoy.I, too, made a pie for Mikey, though I got a little too creative with the ingredients and it was a little wobbly. But delicious nonetheless. I’ve just moved far away, so I couldn’t deliver it to friends or family, but I tried to send Jennie and her family prayers and wishes of healing as I baked it.
Anyway, thanks for being so awesome. I’m totally following this blog!
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Thank you for the lovely note Raquel!
I’m sure Jennie felt all the love that was sent her way!
Cheers, Zoë
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Great!
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This pie looks amazing! I love chocolate and peanut butter together!
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Oh my gosh that looks AMAZING!!!
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Does natural peanut butter work for this recipe?
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Hi Jess,
Yes, it will for this recipe. The texture may not be quite as smooth, but it will be delicious.
Thanks, Zoë
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Does the the cream cheese shine through this pie tasting like a cheesecake or is the cream cheese more in the background?
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Hi Julianna—The cream cheese is definitely more of a background flavor. It’s more for texture and thickening.
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Great. Thank you! And how long can the pie be made in advance (if stored in the fridge of course)?
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It can be made up to two days in advance!
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Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful recipesReply
I just want to make sure that this calls for a regular 9″ pan and not a deep dish? Thank you!
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Hi Andi, yep! Regular 9-inch. This is the exact pan: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016ZS6GS/
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I am in the middle of making this pie. The crust is failing for me, not enough to cover 9” pan and 15 minutes seems too long to bake. I keep trying to find the video link to see what I’m doing wrong but the link isn’t working. Also, could semi-sweet be used instead of milk chocolate? My stores don’t carry the former.
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Hi Lisa, so sorry you’re running into trouble with the recipe. I double checked the link to the video and it is working, but it may be giving you an error if you’re not an Instagram user. As for the crust, perhaps your pie dish is a little bigger or deeper and that’s why it’s not enough crust? Or the crust is too thick and could be spread out more? If you want to add more, you could add a bit more of the crust ingredients until you believe it’s enough to cover your pie plate. Semi-sweet chocolate won’t work in this recipe as it has a different makeup than milk chocolate and doesn’t work in the same way. Zoë hasn’t tested the recipe with semi-sweet chocolate and you’d likely need to reduce the amount to get it right.
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Thank you so much for responding!! I was panicked when I posted. I flipped over to Zoe’s Key Lime Pie crust after two attempts. I had to go ahead with semi sweet chocolate because it’s all I had. I am hopeful!
The recipe needs revisiting because ingredients do not match the narrative. I’m on Instagram so I am still not sure why the video won’t launch?? I would have lived to see the individual cakes referenced in the comments!
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I’m a little confused. The directions for the crust appear to be for a single graham cracker crust. Yet in the instructions for the filling it mentions “pies” and I feel like I have way too much filling for a single pie? There are other comments that seem to imply a different crust???
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Hi Kim, thank you for calling this out! The recipe was originally written in 2011 for individual pies, which is why it states “crusts.” So sorry for the confusion and we will update the recipe accordingly!
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I recently made the peanut butter pie in a vegan version. My friend is dairy free and he absolutely loved it. I also made the original version and it is now the most requested birthday pie in our family, thank you Zoe I adore watching your show.
Best wishes to you and your lovely family ❤️Reply
I made this pie for my husband! Everyone loved it! It is lovely and quite delicious! It offers different textures and definitely a must for the peanut butter lover!Reply
This is delicious! I added an extra tbsp of butter to the crust because it seemed too dry, but it might’ve work out anyway. The filling and the ganache made more than enough for my 9.5 inch pan, but I can live with that 🙂Reply
