Peanut Butter “Pi”

You did know that I was going to post a recipe for pie on Pi Day, right?  What else would you expect from someone who minored in math?

In the interest of full disclosure, I did not make this pie today.  I did not bake a pie at all today.  I spent an extremely frustrating 15 and a half hours in the lab, and Husband worked a 10 hour ER shift.  A nice, leisurely, pie-baking Saturday it was not.  But, I happened to have an unposted pie recipe waiting in the wings, and there is no better time to post it.  (I did, however, come home from lab so late and grumpy that I just picked up dinner from Whole Foods, and Husband told me to buy a little pie from the bakery.  So, in honor of Pi Day, we split half a mini blueberry pie.)

This is a great recipe because it is so quick to make.  I made this for a dinner a friend was hosting on a weekend evening, but once again, I wound up spending a full day working in the lab, and had just enough time to shower and throw this together between rushing in the door from lab and back out the door to dinner.  Since the pie was consumed in the presence of other people, there are no cross-sectional images (sorry, but my food picture-taking nerdiness does not carry over to photographing in the presence of others), but I assure you, it was very well received.  And, I even made it in my very own “pi” plate – a gift from my mother, who could not fathom that anyone with her genes was actually capable of minoring in math.

Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups finely crushed oreos (about 15 whole oreos or other sandwich cookies)
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 12 ounces frozen whipped topping
• 1 (12 ounce) jar hot fudge
• additional oreos, Reeces pieces, or peanut butter cups for topping

Directions:

1. Prepare cookie crust.  Generously butter a 9” pie plate.  In a large bowl, stir together the cookie crumbs and the melted butter.  Using fingertips, firmly and evenly press the mixture into the bottom and sides of the pie plate.
2. Beat peanut butter, sugar, and cream cheese together in a large bowl.  Gently fold in 3 cups of whipped topping.  Add mixture to cookie crust and spread to edges.
3. Heat hot fudge in microwave for one minute.  Stir and spread over peanut butter layer.
4. Refrigerate until serving, at least one hour.
5. Before serving, spread remaining remaining whipped topping over fudge layer.  Top with oreo cookies, Reeces pieces, or peanut butter cups.