Peanut Butter and Chocolate Pie (Pies)

 

                It' a scrumptious, rich peanut butter mousse over a layer of smooth chocolate that coats crisp walnut pastry. The beauty of this multi-stepped special-occasion dessert, aside from its combination of some of America's favorite flavors, is that there are several places where it is possible to stop and freeze or refrigerate the pie and then continue at a later, more convenient time. The finished pie can also be frozen, a big asset.

One 9-inch single-crust pie

The pastry

• ½ cup walnut pieces
• ½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces

1. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, process the walnut pieces until finely chopped but not ground.
2. Add the flour and brown sugar and process to combine, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
3. Add the butter and process until the dough forms large crumbs, but do not let it come together into a ball.
4. Press the pastry over the bottom  and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate, forming about ¼-inch smooth ridge along the top edge of the crust ; refrigerate about 30 minutes or freeze until firm.
5. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
6. Bake the shell about 25 minutes, until lightly browned and set ; let cool on a wire rack.

The chocolate layer

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
• 4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
• 1½ tablespoons strongly brewed coffee

1. Combine the butter, chocolate, and coffee in a small pot or mixing bowl.
2. Place over hot but not boiling water and stir constantly until the chocolate and butter are melted.
3. Pour all but about 2 tablespoons of the chocolate mixture into the bottom of the cooled shell (The reserved chocolate will be used later on for garnish.).
4. Refrigerate for about 1 hour or freeze until firm.

The peanut butter mousse

                For peanut butter lovers, this mousse makes a wonderful dessert as is, topped, if you like, with a little whipped cream and a sprinkling of crushed peanuts.

• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (3 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature
• Two-third cup sifted confectioners' sugar
• ¾ cup old-fashioned-style smooth peanut butter, with no sugar added
• One-third cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup heavy (35%) cream
• 2 tablespoons chopped peanuts for garnish (optional)

1. In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, process the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and peanut butter until smooth ; with the machine running, add the milk, vanilla, and 1 ml salt (if unsalted peanut butter), and process until smooth and well blended ; transfer to a large bowl.
2. In a chilled bowl, whip the cream with a wire whisk or a hand-held electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
3. Fold the cream into the peanut butter mixture to make a smooth mousse ; spoon the mousse over the chocolate layer in the shell and smooth the top with a spatula.
4. If desired, sprinkle the chopped peanuts over the top of the mousse.
5. Warm the reserved chocolate until it is melted ; either drizzle it free-form from a teaspoon, or fill a small plastic zip-top sandwich bag and clip off a tiny corner of the bag to make a pinhead size hole and decoratively pipe it over the top of the pie.
6. Chill the finished pie for at least 4 hours before serving or freeze it ; thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

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