This chocolate peanut butter pie is made with a peanut butter cookie crust. The pie has a secret ingredient that makes it dairy free and low fat: silken tofu! The texture of the pie is so creamy and dreamy that you would never guess it wasn’t loaded up with heavy cream. The flavor is intensely chocolatey and rich, the perfect treat when drizzled with extra peanut butter!
I taste tested this pie over and over again with many different crusts. I tried to make vegan and/or gluten free crusts to go with the vegan filling and none of those crusts were satisfactory. While a standard pie crust or graham cracker crust would work just fine, I love the peanut butter cookie crust because it adds even more peanut butter flavor and balances the rich chocolate filling with a little sweetness.
I also opted to make the peanut butter cookie crust with 50% whole grains. The subtly nutty flavor of white whole wheat flour blends in beautifully with the peanut butter. Again, it is so indulgent that no one will notice the extra boost of nutrients that their bodies deserve.
Notes and Variations for the Chocolate Peanut Pie recipe:
- Silken tofu comes in a vacuum sealed tetra pack and is usually found on the shelf, not in the refrigerator in stores. Do not use water packed tofu which comes in a plastic tub submerged in water, and will be refrigerated. Silken tofu also comes in many different levels of firmness. Firm silken tofu is standard in pie because it will make a pie that stands up to cutting easily. I used Mori-nu Organic silken tofu, it does not give the firmness rating on the package but it worked beautifully.
- My silken tofu is 16 oz? The recipe calls for a 14 oz package because that is what I found locally and used. If you can only find 16ozs go ahead and use a little extra. It will not greatly affect the flavor or texture. The same goes if you can only get a smaller package (12 oz), the recipe will be forgiving.
- Make it dairy free/vegan: Use vegan butter and a flax egg in the peanut butter cookie crust. Alternatively you can also make it crustless; pour the filling into individual ramekins.
- Make it gluten free: Use gluten free all-purpose flour in the peanut butter cookie crust. Alternatively you can also make it crustless; pour the filling into individual ramekins.
- Must be made in advance. This pie takes 12 to 24 hours to set up in the fridge, so you must make it in advance. The cookie crust also needs to cool before you can add the filling. A little patience is required, but it is worth it!
- What type of chocolate chips? Milk chocolate chips lend a soft chocolatey flavor. Semi-sweet chocolate chips were much stronger in chocolate flavor, with more bitter notes as well. Both are delicious but semi-sweet is probably more of an adult flavor profile in comparison to milk chocolate. I was surprised that the milk chocolate chips had less sugar per serving than the semi-sweet, but the flavor is obvious that the milk chocolate chips also have less chocolate. Use dairy free chips if making the recipe vegan.
- Servings: I prefer to cut this pie into 12 pieces because it is rich and I usually eat it after a meal as dessert. Eight pieces is standard and also works for larger servings.
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 6 TBS room temperature butter
- ½ cup natural creamy peanut butter
- 1 room temperature egg
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup white whole wheat flour (or more all purpose flour)
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 14 oz block firm silken tofu (I used Mori-nu Organic)
- ½ cup dairy-free milk (such as almond milk)
- ½ cup natural creamy peanut butter
- 12 oz milk chocolate chips (dairy free if necessary)
- Optional garnishes: mini chocolate chips and more peanut butter
- Using an electric mixer, beat together the brown sugar and room temperature butter until fluffy.
- Add peanut butter to the butter mixture and mix until combined. Add the egg and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl down as you go as necessary.
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix the flour mixture into the dough on low speed until combined.
- Press the dough into a 9 inch pie pan. Pierce the crust and refrigerate it while the oven preheats.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bake the pie crust in the preheated oven for 12 minutes. Cool completely before adding filling.
- For the pie filling, blend tofu, milk, and peanut butter in a food processer until smooth. Melt the chocolate chips in 30 second intervals using a microwave, stirring in-between intervals, until completely smooth. Add melted chocolate to the tofu mixture and process until smooth again.
- Pour the chocolate filling into the cool pie crust. Let chill in the fridge for 12-24 hours.
- Drizzle with extra runny peanut butter and mini chocolate chips for serving (optional).
