So here's a funny thing, around these parts I am known as the cake lady. I love making cakes, but ironically most of my family has an affinity for pies.
Amusing existential situation aside, I love to make my people what they like most on their birthdays, so a few years ago the caramel peanut candy bar pie was born. And yes, the star ingredient is that one name brand candy bar that rhymes with pickers and I am not going to say its name because reasons.
Anyway, the hubs birthday was this past week, and every year he requests this pie. Honestly, I am glad he only requests it once a year, because my friends, this is definitely not a healthy item at all. I'm pretty sure my pancreas is screaming a lament as I type this.
But oh is it so good and delicious. Not only that, it's pretty easy to whip up too, which is a nice thing considering it's the hot August days of summer right now.
That brings me to another added awesomeness regarding this pie, it's no bake cheesecake like, so it's chilled before it is eaten, and let me just say, a slice of this pie is wonderful on a warm summer evening.
But enough cheerleading, it's pie composition time.
To start with, I always get out my deep dish pie plate and whip up my graham cracker crust for a crowd in said pie plate. This takes about twenty minutes or so.
While the crust is cooling, I chop up caramel peanut candy bars. A few years ago I learned that it's a lot less expensive to just buy a bag of fun sized candy bars and chop them up rather than buying standard or giant sized ones.
The previous evening before pie composition, I make sure that a tub of whipped topping and a block of cream cheese are placed on the counter so they will be completely room temperature when I am ready to pie build.
Into my mixing bowl I add the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and some peanut butter. And not the healthy, good for you peanut butter, nope, the creamy, sugar-added kind goes into the bowl.
I then beat that mixture until smooth, and then fold in the whipped topping. Finally I add in the chopped candy bars, and yes, I always reserve some extra candy bars to chop up for the top of the pie and for the assortment of seagulls, I mean humans, that are always lurking about when I chop candy bars. It's like those bars emit a pheromone that draws them in or something...
Before putting the pie into the crust, I always put a layer of salted caramel ice cream topping on the bottom of the crust. Because I like it that way. If I wasn't being lazy I would have made the caramel, but as nothing about this pie is health conscious, I was lazy and used some premade kind.
After putting the caramel on the cooled crust, I added the filling and popped the pie into the fridge for an overnight chill. You need a minimum of 4-6 hours of chill time on this pie, but I always just make it the day before we eat it.
Finally, right before serving, I chop up some reserved candy bars and roasted salted peanuts. I not very artfully scatter them across the pie and then using a fork, drizzle more salted caramel over that.
I am not going to lie, this pie is so good. It's rich, decadent, and not at all healthy, but as a celebratory experience I can't say anything negative about it. We all look forward to eating it once a year!
Caramel Peanut Candy Bar Pie
8 ounces cream cheese (softened to room temp)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
10 fun sized caramel peanut candy bars (or 3 regular size)
8 ounce tub of whipped topping (thawed)
1 deep dish (or two regular pie size)graham cracker pie crust
1/4 cup of salted caramel ice cream toppingChop the candy bars into bite size pieces, set aside.
Place cream cheese, powdered sugar, and peanut butter in a mixing bowl and beat until well combined.
Fold in the whipped topping, then fold in the chopped candy bar pieces.
Spread salted caramel topping in the bottom of the graham cracker crust. Next, spread the filling on top of the caramel. Chill the pie a minimum of 4-6 hours, I chill mine overnight in the fridge.
The Topping
salted caramel ice cream topping
1/4 cup chopped salted peanuts
2-4 fun sized caramel peanut candy bars chopped into bite size piecesRight before serving, remove pie from fridge and sprinkle chopped candy bar pieces and peanuts over the top of it. Then using a fork, drizzle the whole top of the pie with salted caramel topping.
Cut into pieces, serve, and most of all, enjoy!
And as most of the time, all of the images in this post were taken on the author's never ate a pickers which explains a lot of things iPhone.