Peanut Butter Cream Pie!

I started thinking about Thanksgiving yesterday. I know, I know... it's like, 400 degrees outside and everything, but Thanksgiving is just around the corner!

Given that I have a ton of peanut butter, I thought I'd look at some kind of peanut-butter-pie-something for Thanksgiving. So here it goes!

Peanut Butter Cream Pie  Little Wife

Crust

1 Sleeve (about 9) graham crackers

4 Tbs butter, melted

2 Tbs peanut butter

3 Tbs sugar

Smash the graham crackers (or use a food processor to turn 'em into crumbs). I just used a plastic bag and my pent up frustration. Just kidding about the frustration.

Put the crumbs in a mixer. Add butter, peanut butter, and sugar. Mix until the crumbs are well coated. 

See my pretty KitchenAid mixer?? It's beautiful!

Pour into a prepared pie dish and press around the edges. Bake for 10 minutes at 360 degrees. Make sure to cool the crust completely.

Filling

2 1/2 c milk

2/3 c sugar

1/4 c cornstarch

1 egg

1/2 c peanut butter

2 tsp vanilla

2 Tbs butter

In a medium saucepan, whisk milk, egg, sugar, and cornstarch over medium heat until mixture gets warm. 

Not warm yet! The milk will start to bubble slightly.

Add the peanut butter and whisk until the mixture thickens. Then remove from heat. Note: When the mixture begins to thicken, it thickens fast. When you start thinking, "Hey, I think it's getting thickened... yay!" take it off the heat!

Adding peanut butter...

... and now it's definitely thick enough.

Add the vanilla and butter, and whisk until incorporated. If you cut the butter up into smaller bits, it will incorporate better. 

Pour the mixture into a prepared crust. The original recipe calls for the mixture to be poured through a strainer, but I didn't do that. 

Smooth the top, and then lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on top. Chill for four hours, and then serve with whipped cream. 

Yummy!