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Sweet, buttery, salty, and oh so creamy, this Vintage Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie is not your average pie! The crust is a mix of salty pretzels, sweet brown sugar, and a bit of butter. The cream filling is made with plenty of chocolate, cream cheese, peanut butter, heavy cream, vanilla, and a touch of sugar. The crust is topped with a layer of chocolate fudge, then the peanut filling is spooned over the chocolate. Just before serving the pie is topped with mountains of whipped cream and a heavy dusting of cocoa powder. Trust me, this peanut butter pie is extra special. Every bite is sweet, salty, creamy, and heavy on both the chocolate and the peanut butter. The perfect pie for any time of year.
Special Tuesday pie for you guys! But don’t worry, this is an EASY pie. And yes, I know I missed pie day last week (March 14th), but hey, better late than never. And trust me, you’re going to want this pie no matter what day it is.
It’s classic, almost “retro”, and 100% feels like a pie my grandma would have made. Though without a doubt, hers would have some cool whip…mine does not. But promise it’s still as easy as can be. It’s such a great pie for Easter in less than two short weeks!
I’m going to jump right into things today because well, it’s peanut butter chocolate pie! We need the recipe, not my rambling…though I’ve got a little of that too.
The process
What I love about this pie is that it’s easy, no fuss, and anyone can make it.
The crust, it’s made with pretzels, brown sugar, and butter. Sooo, it’s salty, sweet, and buttery. It requires no rolling out or chilling of the dough. Just mix, press the dough into a pie plate, and bake it. The crust gets toasted until golden and lightly browned, giving it a bit of a nutty browned butter flavor. Meaning it is perfectly delicious.
If you have a food processor, this makes very quick work of mixing the crust. If not, no worries at all, just crush the pretzels in a bag (you can even just step on the bag). Then just mix the crust together in a mixing bowl. Do whatever option works best for you.
While the crust is baking, I like to make the chocolate fudge, which isn’t traditional in a peanut butter pie, but since my crust doesn’t use any chocolate cookies, you knew I’d have to include some chocolate somewhere. A little fudge seemed like a good idea. It’s just chocolate, coconut oil, and cream melted together. I spread the chocolate over the pretzel crust, then let it set up before adding the peanut butter filling.
Onto the peanut butter filling
I used cream cheese to keep things thick and creamy, but I wanted this peanut butter pie to be a little looser than most. To do this, I added heavy cream to create more of a whipped peanut mousse texture. So there’s thick cream on the edges, but while the pie sits on your plate, the center of the cream slowly softens into a bit more of a peanut mousse.
And it is so DELICIOUS. You get the best of both worlds. Thick and creamy edges, then a light and creamy center…with a fudgy layer of chocolate underneath!
The cream on top!!
Most peanut butter pies are topped with a chocolate drizzle, but I wanted to do something a little creamier. So, I made a simple vanilla whipped cream and dusted the top as you would a classic tiramisu…with lots of cocoa powder and chocolate shavings.
Again, not classic, but delicious.
Every bite of this pie is filled with sweet peanutty and chocolate flavors with just the right amount of saltiness throughout. And the whipped cream on top is that final extra special touch that really elevates this peanut butter pie above others. Trust me, I know this is a little different, but it’s different in a very delicious way. And it still feels like the pie grandma would make…just maybe a tiny bit better.
Looking for a sweet treat for spring or Easter? This is your pie. Honestly though…it’s really good any time of year!
Looking for other Easter dessert recipes? Here are a few to try:
Soft and Crinkly Brown Sugar Peanut Butter Cookies
Coconut Pecan Caramel Butter Cake
Lastly, if you make this Vintage Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Vintage Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
Servings: 10
Calories Per Serving: 617 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups mini salted pretzels
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Filling
- 6 ounces semi-sweet or dark chocolate, chopped
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 3/4 - 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 cups, plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- cocoa powder, for dusting (optional)
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease an 8 or 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom or use a standard pie plate. 2. To make the crust. In a food processor, pulse together the pretzels, butter, and brown sugar until the pretzels are fine crumbs. Press the mix into the prepared pie plate. Bake 8 minutes, until golden. 3. Meanwhile, combine the chocolate, 1 tablespoon cream, and the coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave, stirring every 45 seconds, until melted. Carefully spread the melted chocolate onto the bottom of the crust and gently up the sides. Chill in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. 4. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar on high speed, until very smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the peanut butter and beat until combined. Slowly add the 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, 1/4 cup at a time until incorporated. Add the vanilla and whip on high spread until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Spoon the peanut cream into the chilled crust. Cover and chill 1 hour.5. Using an electric mixer, whip 3/4 cup heavy cream, 1-2 tablespoons powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla together until soft peaks form. Dollop cream onto the pie. Dust generously with cocoa powder just before serving. Pie will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge.
Would this work with half and half substituted for the heavy cream? I was hoping to make this tomorrow, but multiple stores have been out of heavy cream.
Hi Rebekah,
Yes, that should be fine for you to use. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Could I did a graham cracker crust or do my own regular pie crust instead of the pretzel?
Hi Jenna,
Sure a graham cracker crust would also work here. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
I don’t have coconut oil, is there something else I can use?
Hi Anissa,
You can use butter in place of the coconut oil. I hope you love the recipe. Happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
Do you use Santa Cruz natural dark roasted peanut butter in this recipe?
Hey Tricia,
Yes, I did, but you can use any peanut butter that you like. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Can I melt dark chocolate chips instead of a bar for the crust?
Hi Hillary,
I find that chocolate bars melt much better than chips. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
This looks incredible! Do you have any tips for chocolate shavings? they elevate the beauty so much I just have no clue how to do it.
Hey Kathleen,
Pop a chocolate bar in the freezer and then use a veggie peeler to make your shavings. I hope this helps! xTieghan
I made this, it was delicious. That said, I had the same chocolate problem as a lot of other commenters. I actually had to throw out my first crust + chocolate and start all over. I’d probably add a note in the recipe to add more coconut oil if it’s not glossy and ribbony coming out of the microwave. If it looks dark and fishy, it ain’t gonna spread. Looks like a lot of people are having the same issue. Doubling the coconut oil on attempt #2 made spreading the chocolate a breeze and it wasn’t hard to slice into or eat.
This pie tastes like eating the inside of a Reese’s Pieces. It’s amazing.
Hey Jennifer,
Happy Wednesday! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for making it:) Thanks for your feedback. xTieghan
I don’t actually own a microwave and keep burning my chocolate. Any tips on how to melt chocolate without a mocrowave?
Hey Taylor,
You can melt your chocolate over a double boiler on the stove top. I hope this helps! xTieghan
I’m just making this for the first time, and when I applied the chocolate fudge layer, all of the pretzel crumb crust comes up and it actually is quite a mess. The fudge does not spread at all and it only picks up the crust and just makes globs, what am I doing wrong!? Please help!
Hey Margo,
So sorry, it sounds like your fudge is not as liquidy as is should be. What kind of chocolate did you use? I find all chocolate melts differently so this could be the issue. I would recommend Chocolove! xTieghan
Delicious! I used gluten free pretzels because of a friends celiac needs and it didn’t hold together perfectly and I probably should have put it in the freezer longer to harden before adding the chocolate. But even though the chocolate didn’t spread perfectly across the crust and when I cut it it wasn’t perfect all the layers are delicious and it was still a hit! The crust crumbles ended up as a topping!
Hey Alexis,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am delighted that it was enjoyed! Have a fantastic week! xTieghan
I had a random pregnancy craving for peanut butter pie, and I’m so glad I used this recipe. This is one of the best desserts I have ever made. Prepared the crust ingredients in my Ninja blender and it worked well. Used a standard 9″ pie plate and I think that next time I’ll use a spring form or deeper pie plate…there was no room left for the whipped cream on top. Ended up not being a big deal because the pie was already rich enough without it. I didn’t have any issues with the chocolate layer(I used Hu gems). It was just so damn good. I just finished my last piece and am about to cry because it’s gone.
Hey Kristin,
Thanks so much! I am so glad the recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! xTieghan
This recipe is delicious! Made it for a birthday and a huge hit. My only issue was on my end, when I was mixing in the heavy cream to the PB, I looked back at the recipe and saw the 2 cups and my eyes avoided the 1 1/4 note. So my only suggestion would be to break out the ingredients in the master list to denote what is used for the filling versus the whipped topping. It still tasted great despite the very creamy PB filling, I just used canned whipped topping then to avoid it being too heavy.
Thank you!
Hey Karen,
Thanks so much! I am so glad the recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! xTieghan
I made this pie for my husband and it was absolutely delicious! Will definitely make again. I had a bit of an issue with the chocolate layer – I was able to spread it easily but once ready to serve, instead of it being fudgy, it was hard and made it difficult to cut through. I followed the recipe to the tee so not sure where I went wrong. Any advice?
Thanks – it tasted wonderful!
Hey Leen,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Sorry to hear about your chocolate, maybe try a different brand next time, I really like Chocolove! Happy Monday! xTieghan
I am in love with this pie! It is so delicious. I found that the chocolate was extremely hard which made it difficult to eat. The next time I made the pie, I heated up the heavy cream (more than the recipe says) till it was simmering and then poured it over the chocolate chips. This made the chocolate soft and easy to spread. Thanks so much for this amazing recipe!
Hey Annalise,
Awesome!! I am thrilled that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a go! xTieghan
Delicious! Made this for my and my husband’s birthday weekend in lieu of cake. Only had peanut butter filled pretzels in the pantry so I used those instead for the crust which worked well. I planned to use expensive chocolate but had leftover Hershey’s kisses and figured I’d try them out first based on previous reviewers’ challenges. The directions to melt seemed too hot and too fast, so I melted gently at just 50% for 20 seconds at a time, and added an additional tablespoon of heavy cream. (I used solid coconut oil.) The chocolate poured out of the bowl in smooth wide ribbons to cover the crust and I didn’t try to spread it any more to cover the few tiny bare spots…no need to mess with near-perfection! Wonderful recipe and I’ll make it again!
Hey Mel,
So great to hear! Love that this recipe was enjoyed and thanks so much for making it! Have a great week? xTieghan
My daughter and I made this pie this weekend and it was heavenly! We had no issues with the chocolate—we followed the recipe exactly and it melted and spread just fine. My husband is super-picky about desserts, but after a big slice of this he said “make sure you don’t lose this recipe.” So we will surely be making this again!
Hey Jessica,
So great to hear! Love that this recipe was enjoyed and thanks so much for making it! Have a great week? xTieghan