Delish Thursday: Now Who Doesn’t Love Birthday Pie?!

Hi Friends,

March brings to us a lot of special things: daffodils and tulips, warmer weather, spring storms, Spring Break, leprechauns, blossoms and spring itself.

But in our family, March 1 can’t pass without celebrating our little brother’s birthday and to celebrate, I always make him a peanut butter pie.

For the past 15 years or so I have been making Andy this peanut butter pie for his birthday.

I don’t know if he really loves it (he does) or if I just have always assumed he loves it but either way, he has received this pie for his birthday every year without fail!

This is a simple pie to make. It’s very rich and creamy. The most time-consuming part of the recipe is just making sure you have enough time to chill it in the refrigerator – or if you are like Andy, in the freezer. He says he actually prefers this pie frozen!

Happy March everyone and Happy Birthday little brother!!!

ANDY’S PEANUT BUTTER PIE

Ingredients:
1 chocolate cookie pie shell (You can make it from scratch if you prefer but I just buy a premade one.)
For the pie filling:
1/2 cup hot fudge ice cream topping
1 tub (8 oz.) whipped topping, thawed
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/4 cups cold milk
2 pkgs. (4-serving size each) vanilla flavored instant pudding
For the ganache topping:
1 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt

Instructions:

• Spoon the hot fudge topping into bottom of the crust.
• Place in freezer for 10 minutes.
• In a large bowl, whisk peanut butter and milk together until well blended. Add both pudding mixes. Beat until smooth. (The mixture will be very thick.)
• Stir in half of the whipped topping. Spoon mixture over the hot fudge layer in the pie crust.
• For the ganache topping, put all the ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl.
• Microwave at 30 second intervals stirring well after each interval until the chocolate is melted and smooth. (This should only take 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.)
• Spoon over peanut butter layer and gently smooth it out.
• Refrigerate 3 hours or until set (or freeze)

Note:
The ganache layer is optional. If you prefer a less rich pie (But why?) or you don’t care for ganache (Really?!?) just smooth the remainder of the whipped topping over the peanut butter layer and chill for 3 hours. Then before serving drizzle a little hot fudge topping on top.

Delish Thursday is a KDXU weekly feature written by local St. George culinary expert Laura Squires. Laura doesn't have a restaurant or bakery, but if you've ever tasted her food, you know that she is one of the best food artists in the world! Laura has been a resident of Southern Utah for  more than 30 years.