Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Brownie Pie

  • Chocolate PB Caramel Brownie Pie

    Oh.

    My.

    Dessert God.

    Thank you for this!

    I have made many a pie with peanut butter & chocolate in the last few years… there was the Honey Roasted Peanut Butter & Chocolate Tart, the Incredible Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache Pie, the Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart with Oatmeal Crust, and a few others I’m just lazy to look up right now.  But this one, according to my peanut butter and chocolate aficionado friends, takes the cake (er, pie).  Why?

    The caramel.

    And the World’s Greatest Fudge Brownie crust.

    I know, I know.  Say no more.

    (Oh- The Husband thought it was Christmas morning the other day when I told him I had four pieces of this pie saved in a tin in the back of the freezer.  The tin was empty four days later.)

     

    Adapted from my World’s Greatest Fudge Brownie & Honey Roasted Peanut Butter & Chocolate Tart recipes…

    BROWNIE CRUST (makes a whole batch- you will only use half for this recipe*):

    4 ounces chopped unsweetened chocolate (the better the chocolate, the better the brownie)

    3/4 cup unsalted butter

    2 cups sugar

    2 1/2 teaspoons real vanilla (use the real stuff)

    3 lightly beaten eggs

    1 cup flour

    1 teaspoon salt

    Optional: 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

    Optional: 1 cup chocolate chips

    CARAMEL LAYER:

    1 cup light brown sugar, packed

    4 tablespoons butter

    1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

    Pinch of salt

    1 tablespoon vanilla

    PEANUT BUTTER FILLING:

    3/4 cup butter, room temperature

    3/4 cup peanut butter

    2 teaspoons vanilla

    1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

    2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

    Optional: 3/4 cup roasted peanuts, chopped

    CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE:

    1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips, melted

    1. BROWNIE CRUST:
      1. Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9″ deep dish pie plate.
      2. Melt chocolate & butter in microwave for 2:15 minutes and stir.
      3. Stir in sugar, then vanilla, then eggs, then salt, espresso powder (optional) & flour.
      4. Stir in chocolate chips if you so desire.
      5. Pour half of batter into prepared pie plate and bake for 20 minutes (until center is just set). [Save the remaining batter for another use*.]
      6. Allow to cool before layering caramel and PB filling over top.
    2. CARAMEL LAYER:
      1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, butter, whipping cream and salt.  Allow to cook while stirring gently until bubbly and thickening, about 5 minutes.  Add vanilla and cook another minute, stirring gently.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.
      2. Pour 3/4 cup of the sauce over the cooled brownie base and allow to cool in fridge before spreading PB filling over top.
    3. PEANUT BUTTER FILLING:
      1. In a large bowl, combine 3/4 cup softened butter, peanut butter, and vanilla.  Beat at medium speed for 30 seconds.
      2. Add confectioners’ sugar and beat until combined, scraping bowl occasionally.  Beat in the whipping cream.  Stir in the chopped roasted peanuts (if using).
      3. Spread mixture evenly over the cooled caramel layer.  Chill in fridge while preparing the chocolate topping.
    4. CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE:
      1. In a small bowl, melt chocolate chips in microwave for 45 seconds, stirring and adding 10 second increments in microwave if necessary.  Spoon chocolate (somewhat decoratively) over top of pie and allow to chill before serving (or fill a piping bag/Ziploc bag with corner cut off with the chocolate for more drizzling control).

    Tips:

    • *Only using half of the brownie batter means that you get to bake the rest in (greased) teeny muffin cups (for 15 minutes), or into cookies.  Lucky you!
    • Using peanuts?  They do provide a great crunch. Save a handful to sprinkle over the top of the pie, like I wish I did.
    • You could totally use a good quality store-bought caramel sauce to save yourself the time of making it yourself… but I REALLY love this caramel recipe and think you will too.  (You will have some extra caramel sauce to do whatever you’d like with… like maybe dunking Espresso Shortbread Cookies into the sauce on the couch?)
    • Definitely allow this pie to chill before serving, or it’ll be gloppy.  It will taste great, but it will look like crap.
    • Yes, freeze this puppy!
    • Enjoy.

     

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    August 16th, 2014 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags: , , ,

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