“Once upon a time in a land not so very far away, lived a girl who loved peanuts in most any form they came. She would eat peanut butter sandwiches (no jelly of course), Reeses’s Peanut Butter cups, Butterfinger candy bars, and a multitude of other things containing peanuts. All was well until she found out that she was allergic to peanuts, one of her favorite foods. It was a very sad time in the Johnson house and there may or may not have been slight periods of mourning.”
Early this August, I went to the allergist for a food challenge, after a blood test had found that my levels for peanuts had dropped significantly. Nearly eight years after cutting peanuts from my diet, I was in the doctor’s office eating spoon after spoon of peanut butter—with a bottle of Benadryl and vial of epinephrine sitting on the table across from me. After eating almost a cup of peanut butter, I (peanut lover, turned deathly allergic) was cleared to once again eat one of my favorite foods!
Needless to say, Jason and I were very happy when we found out the wonderful news, and since we have been making up for lost time making/eating lots of yummy things. One such yummy thing has been this peanut butter pie. While the basics of the pie are like a lot of peanut butter pies out there, what makes this one different is its orange flavored ganache, giving it an intriguing twist.
While I’m not sure what my dad was thinking in this photo (or what he was planning to do with those paper towels) here is a picture of the pie right before my family devoured it.
As you can see from my mistake, the two hours chilling time is definitely needed…
- 1 pack whole Oreos
- 4 tbsp butter, melted
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
- 8 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened
- 6 tbsp granulated sugar
- 16 oz Cool Whip, thawed
- 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 tsp Grand Marnier
- Place Oreos in a food processor, pulse until they become fine crumbs and set aside in a separate bowl.
- Brush a 10-inch springform pan with some of the melted butter and then add the rest to the Oreo crumbs, stirring with a fork until combined.
- Evenly press Oreo mixture into the bottom and ¾ up the sides of pan; bake at 350℉ for 6 to 8 minutes, or until set.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer beat peanut butter, softened cream cheese, and sugar until smooth.
- Add in the thawed Cool Whip and continue to beat mixture until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Once filling has come together, spoon into the cooled crust, and evenly spread with an offset spatula.
- Chill for at least an hour before topping with orange ganache.
- Place chocolate into a double broiler and melt completely.
- While chocolate is melting, warm the cream and Grand Marnier in a microwave safe dish.
- Once chocolate has melted add warmed milk mixture and stir until smooth.
- Allow ganache to cool slightly and then pour over chilled pie.
- Return completed pie to the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours—it’s worth the wait.