Peanut Butter Pie

Start with the graham cracker pie crust from Arrowhead Mills to make this easy no-bake pie.  Because you won't find non-dairy sweetened condensed milk in the grocery store, you will have to spend some time making your own. But once that process is out of the way, this pie comes together in mere moments.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup vegan powdered sugar
• 1 cup Tofutti cream cheese
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 and 3/4 cups sweetened condensed non-dairy milk*
• 4 and 1/2 cups whipped Soyatoo whippable topping**
• 2 (9-inch) ready-made graham cracker shells
• 4 teaspoons chocolate sundae syrup (such as Santa Cruz)

1. Combine the powdered sugar, cream cheese, and peanut butter in a large bowl, and beat with a hand mixer until smooth - the mixture will be quite thick at this stage.

2. Add the condensed milk and beat until combined. Stir in the whipped topping.

3. Divide the mixture evenly among the two pie shells.  Chill for 8 hours - the filling should be set, but still soft and fluffy.

4. Drizzle each pie with 2 teaspoons chocolate syrup, and cut into wedges to serve.

Since the recipe generously makes two pies, put one in the fridge, and the other in the freezer. When it comes time to serve the second pie, don't bother to thaw; frozen wedges will have the consistency of an ice cream pie.

*To make the condensed milk, you'll need 2 batches for this recipe, since each only makes 1 cup. For each batch: combine 1/2 cup vegan sugar and 3 cups rice or soy milk in a saucepan.  Cook over medium-low heat until reduced to 1 cup, stirring the entire time - it will take almost exactly 2 hours.  I recommend making one batch two days before the pie, and the second batch the day before, so you're not at the stove for 4 hours on any one day.

**As always, remember that Soyatoo's whippable topping comes in a box, and needs to be whipped for about 3 minutes, until fluffy, before adding to the recipe.  Do not substitute their spray whip from a can.

Nutrition Info:
2 pies, 10 servings per pie (1 wedge), Calories 264 

Tasting Notes:
Unexpectedly, the pie filling tasted exactly like Reese's Pieces - except in light fluffy form instead of hard-shelled candies.  The graham cracker crust was a nice compliment, but because it was crumbly, I'd be curious how this would taste in regular pie dough.  That doesn't stop this pie from earning a "5."

Update: If this was amazing chilled, it was even better frozen. Soft from the fridge, you'll gobble it up so quickly that you might not have time to enjoy the complexity of the flavors. Eating it frozen, I was able to savor it, and the whole thing was that much better. I recommend letting stand about 5 to 10 minutes out of the freezer for perfect consistency. 

Rating:
5