Creamy Dreamy Peanut Butter Pie for Mikey

 

And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count.  It’s the life in your years 

~Abraham Lincoln

I came across a blog post a couple of nights ago that made me cry….that made me realize that so often we take our loved ones for granted….until they are no longer there. That there is no certainty to life and that life is, indeed, very fragile.

Jennifer Perillo, a fellow food blogger and tweeter , food editor and mom to two gorgeous girls, suddenly lost her beloved husband just a few short days ago. I felt an instant bond with Jennifer from In Jennie’s Kitchen and her girls because I lost my dad suddenly when I was just bigger than a toddler and he was a mere 36 years old. I don’t remember the wonderful man that he was. I only know him from photographs and the stories my mother and uncle would tell us. My amazing mother was both father and mother to my four siblings and myself.  I look back on my own married life and gaze at my hubby of 33 years and I realize how blessed I truly am….how blessed my little grandsons are that they still have their Papa to spend special times with. We need to treasure those times more, spend more time appreciating and valueing what we have been blessed with, not taking for granted that tomorrow will come. Two years ago that wake-up call came for us when my hubby was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident while on his way to work. Albeit held together in some parts with metal…we are so blessed to have him with us still….and rejoice in his life.

Jennie posted a recipe for this fabulous creamy peanut butter pie. You guessed it….it was Mikey’s favourite pie. And Jennie kept telling herself “Tomorrow. I will make it for him tomorrow” Sometimes, tomorrow doesn’t come. To honour her request that we make the pie for Mikey and celebrate his life today, to stand in solidarity and support for a grieving fellow blogger, woman and mother….here is my rendition of the pie for Mikey….

Creamy Dreamy Peanut Butter Pie for Mikey

original recipe from Jennifer Perillo

 

Serves 10 to 12

 

250g chocolate cookies – I used the dark oreos

120g butter, melted

120g finely chopped dark chocolate (I used a 62% Madecasse chocolate)

75ml finely chopped roasted salted peanuts

250ml Fresh Cream

250g Cream Cheese

250ml creamy-style peanut butter

250ml Icing sugar

397g can sweetened condensed milk

5ml vanilla extract

1/2 Lemon – juice only

Pulse or bash the cookies into fine crumbs.  Combine melted butter and cookie crumbs in a small bowl, and stir with a fork to mix well.  Press mixture into the bottom and 1-inch up the sides of a 23cm springform pan. 

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave.  Pour 3/4’s of it over the base of cookie crust and spread to the edges using an off-set spatula.  Sprinkle chopped peanuts over the melted chocolate. Place pan in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

Pour the cream into a bowl and beat using a stand mixer or hand mixer until stiff peaks form.  Transfer to a small bowl and store in refrigerator until ready to use. 

Place the cream cheese and peanut butter in a deep bowl.  Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in the icing sugar.  Add the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Increase speed to medium and beat until all the ingredients are combined and filling is smooth and creamy.

Stir 1/3 of the whipped cream into the filling mixture (helps lighten the batter, making it easier to fold in the remaining whipped cream).  Fold in the remaining whipped cream.  Pour the filling into the prepared springform pan. 

Drizzle the remaining melted chocolate on top (optional) and refrigerate for three hours or overnight before serving.

 

The only tip that I have is that I would probably freeze this pie for about half an hour before cutting it…It is perfect in every other way 🙂

Here’s to you Jennie, your lovely girls, and your Mikey…..this evening we are going out to celebrate my hubby Don’s upcoming 60th birthday and we will raise a glass to you!

Have a good weekend everyone, love your loved ones! Cold and rainy weather has descended on Cape Town again..my garden is happy to get some rain water!

Hugs,

browniegirl xx