Peanut Butter Pie Recipe

This weekend was supposed to be pretty laid-back, at least by Winger standards…

I was planning to finally clean my neglected house, do a little computer work, and make our favorite peanut butter pie to go with our Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup for Saturday night supper.

And then just like that, it was Sunday morning and there I was, mopping up a lake of liquid yellow cow manure in my mudroom.

Welcome to my life…  

Christian has been helping our ranching neighbors with calving this year, and thanks to a sudden (but not abnormal) spring snowstorm, the guys were left racing around on Saturday morning to find the newest calves and make sure they didn’t freeze to death.

People often ask me about the our “poor cows” when they see pictures of them outside during snowstorms, but cows are tough, man. As long as they have a a place to escape the wind, they can usually withstand temps way below zero with little issue. In fact, our small herd here at the house will usually opt to stay outside during storms, even though we do have a barn they can stand in.

However, new babies are the exception. If calves don’t have a chance to fully dry off after birth before being plunged into subzero temperatures, they can die quickly. If the calf is found soon enough, it can be transported to a dry barn with its mama to recover. However, if it’s been outside for a length of time and is already chilled, it needs a warmer environment ASAP.

And that’s how we found ourselves with three calves in our mudroom on Saturday. The kids were beside themselves with excitement.

When Christian initially brought them in, they were stiff and past the point of shivering. However, thanks to the space heater, lots of towels, and vigorous rubbing by the Prairie Kids, they gradually began to shiver again, then finally relaxed and fell asleep.

By Sunday morning (and after a little colostrum and MANY status checks by the kids), they were feeling frisky and bucking around my laundry room looking for milk. One even tried to venture into the kitchen, but Dozer (our Mastiff pup) wouldn’t allow it.

Crazy, poopy, and chaotic, but these are the reason I love this life of ours so much. I wouldn’t trade this life for the word and I hope our kids carry these memories with them forever.

But back to the peanut butter pie– cause that’s why you clicked over to this post, huh?

Thankfully, the pie still happened, even in the midst of the calf excitement. I’ve had this recipe for years, and have made it countless times. I love it because it doesn’t call for pudding mixes and Cool Whip (gross) like so many other cream pie recipes out there. I’ve swapped out the white sugar for maple syrup and the cookie crust for an almond alternative, but it’s still pretty rich so I don’t make it all the time. You’re gonna be glad you have this one tucked away in your collection for special occasions.

Peanut Butter Pie Recipe

You Will Need:

Crust:

• 1 3/4 cup almond meal (see note below)
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons granulated whole cane sugar (or brown sugar)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Combine all ingredients and press into a 9″ pie pan. (Cover with a piece of plastic wrap and press over the top of that if you’re having trouble with it sticking to your fingers– just discard the plastic before you bake it!) Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, then cool completely.

Filling:

• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened (or learn how to make your own cream cheese here)
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 5 tablespoons real maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (how to make your own vanilla extract)
• 1 cup whipping cream, whipped (plus additional for garnish)
• Grated/chopped chocolate, whipped cream, and/or peanuts for garnish (optional)

Beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, maple syrup, butter, and vanilla together until smooth.

Gently fold in the whipped cream until completely combined, then spoon the filling into the cooled crust.

Top with additional whipped cream, chocolate chunks, and/or peanuts. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

Peanut Butter Pie Notes:

• If you don’t have almond meal, you can make your own by grinding whole almonds in a high speed blender or food processor until you have a coarse meal. Almond flour will work too, but it works best it’s not super fine.
• If you don’t want to make your own crust, you can easily substitute a graham cracker crust

Other Old-Fashioned Sweets:

• Lemon Whey Pie
• Double Chocolate Cream Pie
• Honey Pumpkin Pie
• Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream