Peanut Butter Mousse Pie with Chocolate Ganache

Light, airy, peanut butter chocolatety deliciousness. This recipe does generate a lot of dishes, but the techniques are simple and it is WORTH it. Trust me.

Peanut Butter Mousse Pie with Chocolate Ganache

adapted from Pinch Me I'm Eating

Ingredients:

crust

10 graham crackers (~1.25 cup graham cracker crumbs)

6 Tbs butter, melted

1/4 cup granulated sugar

peanut butter mousse

1 tsp unflavored gelatin

1.5 cups heavy cream, divided

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

8 oz mascarpone cheese

chocolate ganache

3.5 oz dark chocolate >60%

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 Tbs butter, melted

garnish

2-3 Tbs honey roasted peanuts, crushed

1 pinch flaky sea salt

2 Tbs honey

Instructions:

crust

1. In a food processor, place graham crackers and run until a fine crumb without chunks.

2. Add melted butter and sugar, and pulse until just combined.

3. Dump crumbs into a pie or tart pan, and press evenly around edges with the bottom of a glass or back of a spoon. Refrigerate crust until needed.

peanut butter mousse

1. In a microwave-safe dish, combine 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream with the gelatin & whisk with a fork to combine.

2. Set aside for 5 minutes to allow the gelatin to bloom.

3. In a large bowl, combine peanut butter, mascarpone cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Whish together using an electric mixer until smooth.

4. Heat the gelatin cream mixture in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to melt the gelatin, but do NOT boil. Add to the peanut butter mixture and whisk in to combine.

5. In a medium bowl, add remaining 1.25 cups cream and whip using an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.

6. Fold 1/3 of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture to lighten it. In two more batches, fold in the remaining whipped cream, keeping as much air in as possible.

7. In a piping bag (or ziplock fitted with a star tip) set aside 1/2 cup peanut butter mousse to decorate. Note: you can do this without a tip if you simply have a ziplock bag.

8. Spread the remaining filling into the graham cracker crust evenly. Refrigerate again until needed.

chocolate ganache

1. Finely chop the dark chocolate and add to a small bowl.

2. In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the cream for 10-15 seconds, or until hot but not boiling.

3. Pour cream over chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes. Then, gently stir together using a fork or spatula to combine.

4. Add melted better and stir in until ganache is smooth.

5. Pour the ganache over top of the pie and smooth over with a spoon, making sure to cover the whole top evenly up to the edges. 

garnishes

1. Pipe remaining mousse in rosettes, or smooth swirls if not using a tip, around the edges of the pie.

2. Roughly chop the honey-roasted peanuts and sprinkle across the top of the pie.

3. Just before serving, drizzle honey over pie & enjoy!

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars

I have been buying groceries from Hy-vee online and then just picking up. It's amazing, it's so much easier to get the sale items because someone else is shopping way before I'd be in the store to shop myself, and I *generally* get exactly what I ordered, no more. However, I got a couple bags of pretzels to make chocolate covered pretzels, and both bags were almost entirely broken. I had to use both bags to make one batch of chocolate covered pretzels. But then... what else to do with the basically 2 full bags of broken pretzels?! I found this recipe recipe in search of that answer. Easy, simple, 5-ingredient no-bake bars.

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars

from Live Well Bake Often

makes 12 big bars (or more smaller)

Ingredients:

Peanut Butter Pretzel Layer:

1.5 sticks (170 g.) butter, melted

1.5 cups (180 g.) powdered sugar

1 cup (250 g.) creamy peanut butter

2 cups (200 g.) crushed* pretzels

Chocolate layer:

1-12 oz. bag semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup (65 g.) creamy peanut butter

*Measure pretzel after crushing if measuring by volume. To crush pretzels, use a food processor and pulse until mostly ground but some small pieces remain.

Instructions:

1. Line a 9"x13"  baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment. Make sure to leave some overhang for easy removal, and set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, add the melted butter, powdered sugar, 1 cup peanut butter, and crushed pretzels and mix until fully combined. Dump the mixture into the prepared baking pan and press it down into an even layer.

3. In a medium microwaveable bowl, add chocolate chips and remaining 1/4 cup peanut butter. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring between intervals until fully melted. Pour over peanut butter pretzel layer and use a spatula to distribute into an even layer.

4. Cover pan tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour until chocolate layer has hardened. Then remove from the pan, and slice into bars. You can slice into 12 big bars, but they are pretty rich. I'd recommend making them smaller.