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A slice of chocolate cookie crust peanut butter pie with a bite taken out on a white plate. The pie is topped with whipped cream and small chocolate balls.

Creamy Peanut Butter Pie with Chocolate Cookie Crust

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 23 minutes

Ingredients

Chocolate Crust:

  • 1 ¾ cups (about 170 g) crushed chocolate cookie crumbs (see note)
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 7 tablespoons salted butter, melted

Peanut Butter Filling:

  • 1 cup (255 g) creamy peanut butter (see note)
  • 1 cup (114 g) powdered sugar
  • 8 ounces (227 g) full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream (see note)

Toppings (optional):

  • Sweetened whipped cream
  • Chocolate sprinkles, chocolate shavings, chopped chocolate candy bar (like Snickers, Heath, etc)

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  • For the crust, to a medium bowl, add the cookie crumbs and brown sugar. Stir in the melted butter and mix until evenly combined. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
  • For the peanut butter filling,
    Blender Instructions: combine all the ingredients in a high-powered blender and mix until smooth and very thick, scraping down the sides if needed.
    Electric Mixer Instructions: in a large bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a medium bowl using a handheld electric mixer, add the peanut butter and powdered sugar and mix on medium speed until well-combined. Add the softened cream cheese and vanilla and mix until creamy and smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the heavy cream (see note!) and mix on low speed until combined and then increase speed to medium and mix until thick and creamy.
  • Spread the peanut butter filling into the cooled crust. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours (or up 2 days).
  • When ready to serve, cut the pie into slices and serve with sweetened whipped cream and sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles, chocolate shavings or chopped chocolate candy bars (like Snickers, Butterfinger, or Heath toffee bars - yum!).

Notes

Crust: My favorite chocolate cookies to use for chocolate pie crusts are the Nabisco Famous Wafers, chocolate Teddy Grahams or chocolate graham crackers. If using Oreos, scrape out the cream (if you don't want to scrape out the cream, reduce the butter to 5 tablespoons). 
Peanut Butter: I have only ever made this recipe using regular peanut butter (like Jif or Skippy), but it should adapt ok to natural peanut butter. The filling may have a different texture (possibly a bit more grainy or runny, depending on the consistency of the natural peanut butter). 
Heavy Cream: If the heavy cream you are using is at least 40% milkfat (like the Darigold heavy cream from Costco), you can add it directly to the peanut butter mixture and whip until thick. If the cream is a lower milkfat percentage or doesn't state the percentage, it may be best to whip the cream in a separate bowl until thick and then fold into the peanut butter mixture.