Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie (or Almond Butter!)

Peanuts are banned at our house, so I will substitute with almonds . . . thanks to Caryn Ogle for sharing!

Crust:

1 C graham cracker crumbs

1 C finely chopped blanched peanuts (I used regular salted peanuts)

1/3 C firmly packed brown sugar

1/3 C butter, melted (use real butter, not butter spreads)

Chocolate Filling:

½ C butter, softened

¾ C powdered sugar

1 egg, at room temperature

½ C semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

1 tsp vanilla

Peanut Butter Filling:

1 - 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

1 C smooth peanut butter

1 C granulated sugar

2 T butter, melted

1 C whipping cream

1 ½ tsp vanilla

Chocolate Topping:

1 1/3 C whipping cream

2 ½ C semisweet chocolate chips

Chopped peanuts

To make crust:

Combine graham cracker crumbs, peanuts, brown sugar and butter. Press into Flexipan of choice - I love to use the mini-muffin pan for these kinds of desserts. Chill

To make chocolate filling:

Cream butter and powdered sugar together until light and fluffy. Add egg and combine thoroughly. Add chocolate and vanilla; combine thoroughly. Spread chocolate filling evenly over chilled crust. Chill again.

To make peanut butter filling:

Cream cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add whipping cream and vanilla, continuing to mix while adding. Pour peanut butter filling over chilled chocolate filling. Chill again, for at least 6 hours or overnight.

To make chocolate topping:

Heat whipping cream to a scalding point, but do not boil. Immediately pour over chocolate chips. Let stand 1 minute. Stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth. Pour evenly over chilled peanut butter layer. Chill until topping is firm and until ready to serve. This can be made days in advance and stored in the freezer until you are ready to serve it. Garnish with chopped peanuts.

This is an extremely rich dessert! YUM! You can make this dessert in stages, i.e. one layer each night, or every few hours, allowing it to harden in between layers.