PIE #6 - PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP

I married a peanut butter aficionado. I learned early on in our marriage that Joe loves chunky peanut butter the best, so I always keep an economy size jar of it in the pantry. He slathers it on wheat crackers, banana bread and chocolate bars. If I bake something that doesn't quite pass muster, a smear of peanut butter will redeem it as far as Joe's palate is concerned.

Another newlywed revelation that streamlined my baking endeavors happened when I tried a new cookie recipe. At first bite, Joe declared Cowboy Cookies his absolute favorite.  He even stated he would be eternally satisfied if that were the only cookie I ever baked again. And now 39 years later, I continue to bake those cookies for the hubs!

So for a Valentine's Day gift, I baked a pie that bears a tasty resemblance to Joe's favorite cookie. This pie features an easy pastry crust, "easy" being the inoperative word! My fear and disdain of rolling out pastry crusts is alive and well! I can't seem to nail the right consistency or roll the pastry into a circular form. My dough ended up resembling an amoeba and transferring the misshapen blog to the pie plate was a precarious endeavor.

I ended up cutting the excess dough around the edges and fusing the pieces onto the thin patches in the center of the plate, a dough band-aid of sorts. I think this homely crust could be posted on the "Pinterest Fails" site!

Thankfully, the finished product wasn’t a complete abomination and Joe gave his peanut butter stamp of approval on the taste test. He did say, however, this pie is VERY sweet. I have to agree that it’s borderline tooth curling, so I recommend omitting the peanut butter morsels and substituting semi-sweet chocolate chips for the milk chocolate chips. Doubling the amount of chocolate chips should temper the sweetness level.

By the way, the crust was flaky and worth a revisit after I get a crust-making tutorial from an accomplished baker this weekend! I am determined to master making a decent pie crust!

Without further adieu, I present CHUNKY PEANUT BUTTER & CHOCOLATE CHIP PIE. The recipe is from the magazine cookbook Best Pie Recipes 2023 published by Hoffman media.

EASY PIE CRUST:

3 tablespoons cold all-vegetable shortening
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 cup +1 tablespoon pastry flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 ½-4 tablespoons water

In a medium bowl, combine shortening, butter, flour and salt with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add water by tablespoonsful until dough comes together. Wrap dough in plastic wrap until needed. Dough may be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let thaw in refrigerator before using. Remove dough from refrigerator 30 minutes before using.

FILLING:

1 cup sugar
¾ cup pastry flour
2 tablespoons chunky peanut butter
½ cup butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup dry roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
½ cup peanut butter morsels
½ cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll piecrust to ¼-inch thickness. Press into a 9-inch pie plate. Crimp edge, if desired. In a medium bowl, combine sugar, flour, peanut butter and butter, mixing well. Add eggs, vanilla, peanuts, peanut butter morsels and chocolate chips. Transfer filling to prepared piecrust. Bake until firm in the middle, about 45 minutes.