Everyday Food (May 2008)
To cap off our meal with our friend Whitney, she picked out this peanut-butter pie from Everyday Food. It sounded like a winner: A simple, creamy, chocolatey, peanut-buttery icebox treat.
But the results weren't quite what we'd hoped.
The problem, in one word: gelatin. Maybe we did something wrong, or maybe the recipe just calls for too much gelatin. But we ended up with a pie that was so dense and so stiff, it was almost unappetizing. It was like peanut-butter Jello. (Delicious!, you're probably thinking. You'd be wrong.)
Put it this way: After we each had a slice for dessert at dinner, the remainder of the pie languished in the fridge until we threw it out a few days later. We didn't dig into it for dessert again, or for a midnight snack. Not even for breakfast. That's a pretty sorry state of affairs.
If we make this pie again -- and, honestly, it did taste good -- we'd probably cut the gelatin in half. True, maybe you'd end up with a pie that's a little on the softer side. But that would be world's better than the rigid dessert we ended up with.
If you make it, let us know if you have more luck!
Chocolate Peanut-Butter Pie
Everyday Food (May 2008)
30 chocolate wafer cookies
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 envelope (1/4 ounce) unflavored gelatin
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cookies in a food processor, and process until finely ground (you should have 1 3/4 cups); add butter, and pulse until moistened. Transfer crumb mixture to a 9-inch removable-bottom tart pan. Press firmly into the bottom and up the sides (use bottom of a dry measuring cup to help). Bake until fragrant and set, 15 to 20 minutes; let cool completely. Wipe food processor clean and reserve.
Place 1/4 cup cold water in a small saucepan; sprinkle with gelatin. Set aside to soften, 5 to 10 minutes.
In food processor, combine sugar and peanut butter; process until smooth. Add cream; process until mixture is light and holds soft peaks, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.
Heat softened gelatin over very low heat, stirring, just until dissolved. Add to peanut-butter mixture in food processor; blend to combine. Transfer filling to cooled crust, and smooth top. Sprinkle with peanuts, and chill until set, at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
