Yesterday was National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day! Woohoo! As if National Peanut Butter Day was not enough, we gotta celebrate the fans, or “lover’s”, of peanut butter as well. Ha. As silly as it is, I still jumped at the opportunity to eat peanut butter. And bake with peanut butter. And oh my, did something amazing happen.
When frozen, the pie tastes like ice cream!
I totally had no idea what I was doing in the kitchen, except for the fact that I was going to try and make a rich, smooth peanut butter pie filling and encase it in a brownie crust. How do you make a brownies crust? Well, if you are me, you make a half-batch of brownies, and squish them up with your fingers until they are gooey. Then you press them into a pie dish. Appetizing?
Warmer, the pie is silky smooth and luscious
I decided to freeze the pie, not only to set it, but also to see how it would taste. I froze it over night, then took it out and let sit for 5 minutes. It had a texture like ice cream, which was fantastic! The banana really shined through. But an hour later, after sitting in the fridge, it was much fudgier in texture and oh-so amazing! The peanut butter flavour was incredible. Thuper duper.
Wanna slice? Of course you do
This pie is not pretty. If you wanted to make it pretty, you would use smooth peanut butter, and somehow blend all the banana texture the hell out of it. And it would probably look a lot fancier with a layer of sweetened vanilla whip cream layered on top in a huge swirl.
But I didn’t do any of that. I used chunky peanut butter (all I had), I was too lazy to process the bananas into a puree, and I ran out of whipping cream (no elegant topping). But that is ok because sometimes most of the time, how it tastes is more important than how it looks. I’m not saying that whipped cream tastes bad (OHMYLAWD imagine if I did), I’m just saying that you don’t always have to be fancy. Every once in a while you gotta take off the heels and the so-tight-I-can’t-breath skirt and slip into ski socks and so-baggy-I-look-pregs sweats. Do it. And eat this pie while doing so. You’ll thank me you did.
Peanut Butter Banana Pie with Brownie Crust
Brownie Crust (makes a 1/2 batch of brownies OR double to make a full batch and have left-over brownies)
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 cup cocoa
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
Peanut Butter Banana Pie Filling
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- 1 HEAPING cup peanut butter
- 1 medium banana, mashed
- 1 tsp vanilla
Directions:
Grease a 9×9 inch square baking pan and set oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix together melted butter and sugar until thoroughly combined. Slowly mix in cocoa, until all flour clumps are gone. Finally, stir in eggs and vanilla. When wet mixture is made, stir in dry ingredients.
Pour brownie mixture into pan and bake for 15 minutes until set yet still gooey. Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes. When fully cooled, break up brownie into small chunks, and continue to smoosh (yes, smoosh) until brownie is gooey enough to press into a greased pie pan. Place in freezer to cool for 15 minutes.
While brownie crust cools, makes peanut butter filling. Beat whipping cream until it becomes stiff and peaks begin to form. Slowly add in sugar and continue beating. Add in peanut butter, then banana, and finally vanilla. Keep beating mixture for 3-4 minutes until mixture becomes thoroughly smooth and thick.
Pour peanut butter mixture into brownie crust and freeze for at least one hour, then remove and top with whatever you want. Pie tastes better the next day, when placed in fridge overnight.
Eat me!!
I personally think that peanut butter should be celebrated, and eaten, everyday. Check out these other peanut butter creations to satisfy your cravings!
For a truly decadent and rich dessert, try Peanut Butter, Caramel, and Chocolate Tart.
For something easy, quick, and delicious, make Chocolate-Puddle Peanut Butter Cups.
For something less dessert-like yet incredibly moist and heavenly, make Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Bread.
And for something that is better for breakfast yet still gooey, warm and full of peanut butter flavour, try Birthday Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Banana French Toast.
Happy Baking!
xox.
Tags: banana
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