June 27, 2012

Peanut Butter Chiffon Pie

With White Chocolate Wonderful Peanut Butter and a Biscoff Cookie Crust


Okay, two things that you need to know before this recipe-

One: White Chocolate Wonderful is officially my favorite flavor from Peanut Butter & Co. I would have sworn up and down that it would be Dark Chocolate Dreams, and wasn't even all that interested in trying it, except for the fact that I thought it would go well in this pie. Boy, am I glad I did. That little bit of light sweetness is a perfect complement to the smooth and creamy peanut butter. I'm seriously salivating thinking about it. Yum.

Two: And this may come as a shock to some of you, but I'm not a huge fan of Biscoff cookies. *Pauses for shocked gasps* I mean, they're okay and all- I don't dislike them- but I'm not totally sure why people have been going so completely mad for them. Maybe they're better with coffee, but as we already know, I've never been a coffee drinker. One thing I knew as I tried them for the first time, though; they would make a phenomenal cookie crumb crust. There, they don't disappoint.
A chiffon pie is apparently what you get when pudding and mousse get together and do a little bow-chicka-wow-wow. It's creamy, rich, but with a light, fluffy texture. The light sweetness of the White Chocolate Wonderful filling is contrasted beautifully by the darker, spicy flavor of the Biscoff cookie crust. This. Pie. Is. AWESOME. Trust.

Now if I can only figure out a way to add Nutella, I'll hit the food blogger trifecta.

Peanut Butter Chiffon Pie {Printable Version}
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients
For the crust:
2 cups Biscoff cookie crumbs
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp. sugar
Pinch salt

For the filling:
¼ cup cold water
1 envelope (1 tbsp.) unflavored gelatin
4 eggs, separated
1 cup White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter*
1 cup milk
2/3 cup plus 3 tbsp. sugar
½ cup heavy whipping cream
White chocolate shavings and whipped cream, to garnish (optional)

Directions
Prepare the crust: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Mix all of the crust ingredients together, and pat evenly
into a 9 inch pie pan, allowing it to come up the sides. Bake for 8-10 minutes, and let cool completely
before filling.

For the filling: In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and set aside to soften. Add the egg
yolks to a small saucepan and whisk. Add 2/3 cup of the sugar, the peanut butter, and the milk, and
continue to whisk until smooth. Heat the saucepan on medium and bring to a simmer, stirring
constantly, until the mixture is thickened slightly. Do not allow to boil. Remove from heat and add the
softened gelatin, stirring until completely dissolved. Transfer the mixture to a separate bowl and
refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until thickened and completely cool, 1-2 hours.

In a bowl using electric beaters, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. In a separate bowl using clean
beaters, whip the egg whites with the remaining 3 tbsp. sugar until stiff. Gently fold the egg whites and
cream into the peanut butter mixture. Fill the prepared crust and top with white chocolate shavings and
whipped cream, if desired. Chill 2 or more hours before serving.

*If using regular peanut butter, increase the sugar to 1 cup.

Recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma The Best of Kitchen Library: Desserts