I know it isn’t Pi Day yet, but consider this your Pi Day post since it is on a weekend this year.
I was excited to find a non-baked pie recipe I could make that is creamy but vegan. The original recipe called for peanut butter, but natural peanut butter, so it was easy to swap with almond butter.
Sometimes I make recipes and want to try making them again not because they were completely satisfactory but because I am curious about how they turned out. This is a bit hard to explain, but basically the recipes are not overly complicated/weird, the end result is edible and potentially pleasant, but there is something not quite right which might require further experimentation.
Let’s start with donuts!
Have you been waiting to see what dessert pie I actually made for Pi Day this year? Well, it may be a few months after the fact, but here it is.
I’ve made crack pie before and it turned out fine, but I decided to make it again in honor of one of the math world’s most famous holidays…Pi Day. If so desired, you could make this for today…or make it just because. Although, if you haven’t started it yet, you are a bit behind since it should freeze for at least 3 hours, and then has to defrost. It’s a bit of a diva pie.
Even though I shared a recipe for Pi Day, this was the actual pie I made for this year’s Pi Day. I mean, really, you can’t have too many pies, especially when I tend to go for the chocolate kind.
It’s the annual day for me to try to share a new pie recipe…which is hard, given I don’t eat many pies. This year, I actually made this on purpose to have a Pi Day post. And then I realized (after making it) that I had just made another pie, albeit a savory one. Oops! That one will have to get shared, too…or saved for next year? Haha. Anyway, I like that this one is as easy as making cookies…but even easier since you just spread the batter in a pan and don’t have to chill it/scoop it/do multiple trays of cookies/etc. So simple. And, bonus? There is peanut butter in it! It’s a bit subtle with the peanut butter, compared to some other recipes I’ve made, but just enough for you fellow chocolate/peanut butter lovers.
You don’t want to bake this pie all the way through. You want it to still be a bit soft as it is above.
As it cools, the pie sets up nicely and is like one giant cookie. You definitely need a tall dish for it, so if you don’t have a deep dish pie pan (I don’t), a springform pan can also work, assuming yours is tall on the sides like mine.
You can microwave the slices to get them ooey gooey again if you like. Entirely up to you. I ate it both ways.
A peek inside before it baked….
And what happens when you slide it off the bottom of the springform pan early…
The Fudgelet and I ate that piece quickly. No one had to know. Except now you do.
Directions for Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Cookie Pie
Adapted slightly from Food Folks and Fun
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9-inch deep dish pie plate, or a 9-inch springform pan. My springform pan is glass and silicone, so I didn’t spray it.
Beat together the butter and peanut butter until fluffy and combined (about 1 minute on medium speed with your mixer).
Add both sugars and beat for another 2-3 minutes, again until fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating for about 30 seconds in-between, then the vanilla. Beat for one more minute.
Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the dry ingredients into the butter/egg mixture, just before it is combined.
Then, stir in the chocolate chips and mix until combined.
Press about half of the dough into the bottom of the baking dish. Then, sprinkle the peanut butter cups on top, spreading them out evenly.
Place the remaining dough on top, pressing down and making sure you cover the peanut butter cups, and that the top is smooth.
Bake for about 50-55 minutes until the top is lightly browned and dry, and the inside is set but still gooey. Let the pie cool for 30 minutes before serving. If baking it ahead of time, you can microwave slices for about 15-20 seconds to make them gooey again, serve them as is for a more firm/cookie-like slice, or rewarm the entire pie pan in the oven.
Directions for Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Cookie Pie (without pictures)
Adapted slightly from Food Folks and Fun
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9-inch deep dish pie plate, or a 9-inch springform pan. My springform pan is glass and silicone, so I didn’t spray it.
Beat together the butter and peanut butter until fluffy and combined (about 1 minute on medium speed with your mixer). Add both sugars and beat for another 2-3 minutes, again until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for about 30 seconds in-between, then the vanilla. Beat for one more minute.
Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the dry ingredients into the butter/egg mixture, just before it is combined. Then, stir in the chocolate chips and mix until combined.
Press about half of the dough into the bottom of the baking dish. Then, sprinkle the peanut butter cups on top, spreading them out evenly. Place the remaining dough on top, pressing down and making sure you cover the peanut butter cups, and that the top is smooth.
Bake for about 50-55 minutes until the top is lightly browned and dry, and the inside is set but still gooey. Let the pie cool for 30 minutes before serving. If baking it ahead of time, you can microwave slices for about 15-20 seconds to make them gooey again, serve them as is for a more firm/cookie-like slice, or rewarm the entire pie pan in the oven.
I couldn’t leave you hanging without posting something about Pi Day. Even if Pi Day is tomorrow. Even if I haven’t made any pies for awhile…today’s favorite links are all round, in honor of the humble circle. As the Fudgelet’s toy remote says…”Today’s shape is…circle!”
