Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie with Oreo Crust
A chocolate peanut butter pie with an Oreo cookie crust, a peanut butter cream cheese filling, and Cool Whip folded through. Serves 8, and it’s best straight out of the freezer.
Eat this frozen. I’m putting that first because everybody chills it in the fridge like the recipe says and stops there, and the frozen version is a completely different dessert. It goes dense and cold and slightly chewy, somewhere between a peanut butter cup and a Dairy Queen Treatzza Pizza, and that’s how I’ve eaten every slice I’ve ever cut.
Chocolate peanut butter pie is an Oreo cookie crust filled with peanut butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar, lightened with folded-in Cool Whip. It makes 8 slices, takes 15 minutes of hands-on work, and needs at least 3 hours in the fridge or 1 hour in the freezer to set.
The filling is four ingredients and uses a hand mixer. The only part with any technique to it is the folding, and even that just means going slow.
If you want more of the no-fuss dessert situation, I’d also make my Banana Cream Pie With Pudding Mix, Gluten Free Strawberry Cheesecake, and High Protein Brownie Bark.
Why You’ll Love This Pie
- Four ingredients in the filling. Peanut butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, Cool Whip. That’s the whole thing.
- It gets better in the freezer, which means you can make it days ahead and it improves instead of degrading.
- It feeds 8 without anyone asking what’s in it. This is not a health recipe and I’m not going to pretend otherwise. It’s 589 calories a slice and it’s a party dessert.
Ingredients You’ll Need
(Amounts are in the recipe card below. These are my notes on why each one is in there.)
For the Oreo crust:
- Oreos: the whole cookie, filling and all. The cream is part of what binds the crust. Graham crackers work if you want a lighter, less chocolatey base.
- Melted butter: binds the crumbs. You want the mixture to look like wet sand before you press it in.
For the peanut butter filling:
- Creamy peanut butter: it has to be a regular no-stir brand like Jif or Skippy. Natural peanut butter separates and the filling will not set. This is the one substitution that ruins the pie.
- Cream cheese: full block, and it has to be properly room temperature. Cold cream cheese leaves lumps you can’t beat out later.
- Powdered sugar: sweetens and firms. Add it gradually or you’ll wear it.
- Cool Whip: folded in at the end, and it’s what takes the filling from dense to mousse-like. Thaw it in the fridge, not the microwave.
How to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
- Blitz the Oreos in a food processor until they’re fine crumbs. No processor, use a ziplock bag and a rolling pin.
- Stir the crumbs into the melted butter until it looks like wet sand, then press firmly into a 9 inch pie dish, bottom and up the sides. Use the bottom of a glass and lean on it.
- Bake the crust at 350°F for 6 to 8 minutes, then let it cool completely before the filling goes in.
- Beat the peanut butter and softened cream cheese together until smooth. Give it a couple of minutes, it takes longer than you think.
- Add the powdered sugar gradually and beat until the mixture is thick and smooth.
- Fold in the Cool Whip by hand with a spatula. Slow, gentle, until it’s just combined. Beating it here knocks the air out and the filling goes heavy.
- Spread the filling into the cooled crust and refrigerate at least 3 hours, or freeze for 1 hour.
Tips Before You Start
- Room temperature cream cheese is not a suggestion. Pull it out an hour ahead. Cold cream cheese gives you a lumpy filling and no amount of extra beating fixes it, it just deflates everything else.
- Fold the Cool Whip, don’t beat it. Spatula, not mixer. If the filling loses its air the pie sets dense instead of light.
- Wipe the knife between slices. This filling is sticky and the second cut looks nothing like the first unless you clean the blade.
How to Store This Pie
Covered tightly with plastic wrap in the fridge it holds for up to 5 days, and the crust stays crisp the whole time.
For the freezer, wrap it in plastic and then foil and it keeps up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge if you want the soft version, or cut it straight from frozen if you want it the way I eat it. Frozen slices cut cleanest of all, so run a knife under hot water first.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie with Oreo Crust
Ingredients
- 24 oreo cookies
- 5 tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter use a no-stir peanut butter, not a natural kind
- 1 block cream cheese 8oz, room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
- 3 cups cool whip thawed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add the Oreos into a food processor and blend until you have fine crumbs. If you don’t have a food processor, put them in a ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
- In a large bowl, combine the Oreo crumbs with the melted butter. Mix until the crumbs are well-coated and resemble wet sand.
- Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie dish. Use the back of a spoon or the bottom of a glass to really pack it down. Pop it in the oven for 6-8 minutes to bake.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the peanut butter and softened cream cheese together with a hand held mixer until smooth and creamy.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar and beat until fully incorporated. Your mixture should be thick and smooth.
- Gently fold in the Cool Whip until the filling is light and fluffy. Make sure everything is well mixed, but don’t overdo it.
- Pour the peanut butter mixture into the cooled oreo crust. Spread it out evenly with a spatula.
- Pop the pie in the fridge overnight or at least 3 hours until it’s set. If you’re in a hurry, you can put it in the freezer for about 1 hour.
- Before serving, you can add some whipped cream on top or drizzle it with melted chocolate or extra peanut butter. Maybe even sprinkle some chopped peanuts, Reese's pieces peanut butter cups, or butterscotch chips for a bit of crunch.
- Use a sharp knife to cut nice, clean slices. Serve chilled and watch everyone’s faces light up!
- Pro tip: Serve frozen for a more dense and creamy consistency (my preference). Similar to a Dairy Queen Treatzza Pizza.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided is calculated based on industry-standard software and should be used as a general guide only. The information may vary depending on ingredient substitutions, cooking techniques, and individual serving sizes. It is the responsibility of the reader to ensure the accuracy and appropriateness of the nutritional information provided. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for personalized medical or nutritional advice.
More Easy Desserts You’ll Like
- Peppermint Bark Fudge
- Greek Yogurt Bark
- Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cups
- Easy Lemon Cake Balls
- Ninja Creami Mango Sorbet
If you make this, leave a star rating and a comment below and tell me whether you went fridge or freezer. And if you post it, tag me @basicswithbails or use #basicswithbails.
About Bailey
I love to bake, cook, exercise, and document all of the above. Nutrition is not low fat. It is not low calorie. It’s not feeling deprived or being hungry all the time. It’s nourishing your body with real, whole foods so that you are consistently satisfied and energized to live your life to the fullest! Read more…
