Peanut Butter Pie

I've been working on this peanut butter pie for a while. In total, I think I've made 6 or 7 peanut butter pies this week, just trying to hit perfection. I finally got it. Here is the finished version. If you like peanut butter, you absolutely have to make this pie. 

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. cream cheese (half a block)
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 8 oz. whipped topping 
• chocolate graham cracker crust
• 2 tbsp Magic Shell ice cream coating
• Plastic sandwich bag
• 3 tbsp crushed peanuts

Directions:

Cut the cream cheese into cubes and microwave it for 20 seconds to soften. You can always leave cream cheese out on the counter to soften, but even at room temperature it doesn't hit that perfect consistency of solid, yet creamy that makes mixing easier. Trust me, stick it in the microwave. As long as it isn't melted, it will be fine. 

Put the softened cream cheese cubes and the powdered sugar into a large mixing bowl. Mix the two ingredients together with a hand mixer until they are fully combined and look like cake batter. Add the peanut butter and milk. Mix until both are filling incorporated. Add the cream and do the same. At this point you should have a thick, creamy, peanut buttery ball of yum in your bowl. 

Unplug the mixer. Take the beater out of the mixer and put it in your mouth (yes, this is a requirement). Enjoy the pie batter while folding the whipped cream into the batter. You can use a spoon, but I find that a frosting spatula works much better for this part. 

Scrape the mixture into the chocolate pie crust. A chocolate graham cracker crust works perfectly for this, but if you can find an Oreo pie crust it would probably be just as delicious. I would have made my own Oreo crust for this pie, but Oreos do not survive longer than an afternoon in this house, so any attempts at that would be futile. 

Now, force yourself to put down the beater (hard, isn't it?) because you'll need both hands for this part. Smooth out the pie filling with the frosting spatula. Pour the Magic Shell into the plastic sandwich bag. Cut a small hole in the corner of the bag and make swirly designs all over the pie. Sprinkle it with the crushed peanuts. Let the pie sit, uncovered (covering it will destroy your pretty topping and its hard as heck to remove  saran wrap that has frozen solid to the top of a pie) for a couple hours until the filling sets. You can then dig in. 

If there's any pie left when you're finished, you can cover it with saran wrap before putting it back in the freezer. The pie will have frozen enough by this point that the saran wrap won't stick to it. I keep mine in the freezer but you can move the pie to the fridge after it sets for a softer filling. 

Pumpkin Frosting

Ingredients: 

1/2 can pumpkin 

1 stick butter

1/2 tsp salt

4 cups powdered sugar

3 tsp vanilla 

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

Put the ingredients in a large bowl and mix with an electric mixer until smooth. If the icing comes out too thick (it really shouldn't, but in the event it does) add a tbsp of milk and mix again. Continue adding a tbsp of milk and mixing until the frosting is the consistency you want.

Chocolate Fried Pies

Ingredients: 

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup milk

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups baking mix

Directions:

1. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, butter and 1/2 of the milk in a saucepan. Blend the ingredients together well. Bring to a low boil, stirring constantly. When the mixture begins to thicken (usually after a minute or two), remove it from the heat and stir in the vanilla. At this point the chocolate filling should be the consistency of cake frosting. Set filling aside.

2. Combine the baking mix and the remaining 1/2 cup milk. Knead the mixture into dough. Roll out the dough as flat as possible. Cut it into medium-sized circles. The best way to do this is to place a cereal bowl upside-down on the dough and trace the edges with a knife. This leaves you with a perfect circle. 

3. Heat 1/2 inch vegetable oil in the bottom of a frying pan. 

4. Add 1-2 tbsps of the chocolate filling mix in the center of each dough circle. Wet your fingers and pinch each circle shut around the edges. 

5. Fry the pies in the oil, two at a time for 1 min to 1 1/2 mins per side. Remove from the hot oil and place on a paper towel to drain. Top with powdered sugar if you wish. 

No Bake Chocolate Coconut Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients:

• 2 cups peanut butter
• 2 cup powdered milk
• 1 cup honey
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 4 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs

Directions

1. Mix the peanut butter dry milk and honey together in a large bowl until the ingredients form a thick, brown paste. Form the paste into approximately 1.5 inch balls. 

2. Pour the shredded coconut, cocoa powder and graham cracker crumbs in three separate paper plates. Roll each ball first in the cocoa powder then the coconut and finally the graham cracker crumbs. 

3. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Serve. 

No Bake Chocolate Butterscotch Bars

Ingredients

3.5 cups oats

1 cup peanut butter

4 tbsp cocoa powder

1 stick butter

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk

3 tsp vanilla flavoring

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Directions

1. Melt the butter, sugar, milk and cocoa powder in a saucepan. Heat to boiling. Let the mixture boil for approximately 1 minute. This boils off some of the excess liquid. Stir the mixture constantly during this process to prevent the sugar from burning. 

2. Turn down the heat to low. Add the peanut butter. Stir until the peanut butter is fully mixed in and smooth. 

3. Add the oats. Mix well. 

4. Butter a casserole dish. Pour oatmeal mixture into the casserole dish. 

5. Pour the butterscotch pieces on top. Mix them in. Don't think you're going to cut corners and add the butterscotch pieces when you add the oats. That will cause your butterscotch to melt and you don't want them to melt entirely. 

6. Place dish in the refrigerator uncovered for two hours. 

7. Remove the dish of oatmeal bars from the refridgerator and cover them with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Remember, you don't want food just sitting out uncovered in your fridge. These bars, however, need a little while to harden without the risk of sweating.

8. Slice into bars and enjoy! 

Berries n' Cream Dessert

Ingredients

1 package fresh strawberries

1 package fresh blueberries

1 package fresh raspberries

1 16 oz container very cold heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup organic unbleached sugar

Granola

Directions

1. Wash and dry all of the fruit well. Now, when I say wash well, I don't mean rinse the berries off under the running water while still in the container. Unless you picked them out of your own garden and know exactly what's on them, take them out by the handfuls, and wash them by rolling them gently around in your hands under the stream of water. You can also wash them through a colander, but rinse each group of berries separately since we will be separating them. 

2. Pour the entire container of heavy whipping cream into the blender. Turn the blender on. Feel free to use any setting but "Liquefy." Blend for about 5 seconds, or until the cream begins to show peaks. Pour in the sugar. Blend another 10 seconds or until the mixture thickens into whipped topping. Taste the whipped cream. If its sweet enough for you, move on. If not, add more sugar. I don't usually measure things, so 1/4 cup sugar is a rough estimate. Use however much you like. 

3. Arrange strawberries in the bottom of a small dish. Put a big dollop of whipped cream on top of the strawberries. Repeat the layering with the blueberries and raspberries. Top with granola. 

Note: You can use any fruit you like to make this dessert...except for watermelon. Lets not go there, okay?