Peanut Butter Cream Pie

Last Sunday, food blogger Jennifer Perillo's husband suffered a massive and unexpected heart attack and passed away. He loved peanut butter cream pie, and as a tribute to him, Jennifer asked everyone to join her in celebrating his life and honoring his memory by making the dessert he loved so much. 

I have never met Jennifer Perillo, and until last week I had never read her blog. In fact, I probably would have never known of her existence if it weren't for a delicious-looking peanut butter pie entry on FoodGawker early last week. In the last several days there has been an amazing influx of peanut butter cream pie entries on both TasteSpotting and FoodGawker, as hundreds of food bloggers rushed to support Jennifer. 

To be honest, I feel a little strange making a dessert for someone I've never met, and who likely won't even know what I've done. I also can't wholly relate to Jennifer's experience, as I've been fortunate enough to never  have  experienced the loss of someone dear to me. But, I'm so awed by the love and support complete strangers have shown for Jennifer and her family that I can't help but want to do my part as well. So, here's my pie for Mikey Perillo, and my best wishes for his family.

Peanut Butter Cream Pie (Adapted from the Running With Tweezer's blog)

Ingredients:
(Crust)
- 1-1/4 chocolate cookie crumbs (I used crushed Oreos)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup butter, melted

(Filling)

- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp butter, softened

- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- Melted chocolate and butterscotch ganache for garnish (Optional! I had butterscotch ganache leftover from when I made those butterbeer cupcakes, and I thought it would be a nice touch.)

Steps:
(1) Preheat oven to 375.
(2) Combine cookie crumbs, sugar, and butter until the mixture has the texture of crumbly, wet sand. Press into the bottom of a pie plate.
** I opted out of the pie dish and divided my mixture between 2 mini spring-form pans.
(3) Bake crusts for 6-8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

(4) In a mixing bowl, cream together peanut butter, cream cheese, sugar, butter, and vanilla until smooth.
(5) Whip cream in a separate bowl, then fold into the peanut butter mixture.
(6) Spoon filling on top of your crust.
** In my case, divide evenly between two mini spring-forms.
(7) Drizzle with melted chocolate and butterscotch ganache.
(8) Refrigerate until you're ready to serve -- the longer it spends in the fridge, the firmer the filling.
(9) Serve immediately, plain or with ice cream.