peanut butter pie

Of course it wouldn’t take me very long to mention this pie on this blog.  My mom has been making it for years (mostly as per my request).  Family lore has it that this recipe is originally from The Barbecue House in Auburn.  My mom supposedly got it when she was in college from her roommate who worked at the restaurant, written down decades ago (and who knows how much we’ve changed it through the years we’ve been making it).  This was probably my number one favorite dessert growing up.  I used to request it for my birthday instead of cake.

This pie is also incredibly easy to make, and virtually impossible to ruin.  Except for the one time I dropped the bowl of filling onto the pie crust, and we had to have peanut butter pudding with graham cracker crumbs instead.  But really, it’s simple.  It’s also super rich, so a glass of milk is a must.

The only difference between what my mom has always done and what I do, is that I prefer to use creamy peanut butter as opposed to crunchy.  I realize that the ingredients are not super sophisticated, (store bough graham cracker crust, cool whip…kind of like I should be on Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee).  The measurements of this recipe also bother me.  I hate when a recipe asks you to use a package of something (cream cheese, whipped topping), because it’s never the same size of what you have (as has happened to me many times: a box of powdered sugar? but I have this one gigantic bag!)   But in this case, who am I to try to re-write perfection?

{Edit 12/15/14: I’ve been told that this is not how the pies are currently made at The BBQ House.  Whether the recipe has changed or we have changed it through the many decades we’ve been making it, I do not know.  But either way, this is still delicious and I can’t imagine a peanut butter pie being better.}

Peanut Butter Pie

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Other Time: 2 hours

Makes 1 pie (serves about 8)

3/4 cup peanut butter
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1 (8 oz.) package of whipped topping (Cool Whip), thawed
1 store bought graham cracker crust (or make your own)

1.  Cream together peanut butter and cream cheese.  Add sugars, 1/4 cup at a time, mixing well.
2.  Fold in whipped topping and pour into graham cracker crust.
3.  Chill before serving, at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.