I woke up to a cooler-than-usual morning in Tennessee, today. All of the doors and windows stood open when I got out of bed, but by mid-afternoon, the cool of morning had evaporated and it became uncomfortably warm. An A/C repair man was hard at work when I returned from the store and I realized, it hadn't been my imagination... something was wrong with the A/C.
Though I had wanted to bake something special for the holiday, the thought of adding heat to this house was oppressive.
So instead, I remembered a pie that my granma makes. It's one of my brothers' favorite pies and to me, it just tastes like family traditions. It was the perfect solution to summer heat, my serious sweet tooth and the low level homesickness that I have been battling on and off all summer:
Granma's Easy as Ice-box Peanut Butter Pie
1. 8 oz Cream Cheese
2. 1 Cup Confectioner's Sugar
3. 1/2 Cup Milk
4. 3/4 Cup Crunchy Peanut Butter
5. 13 1/2 oz Cool Whip
(You want the Cream Cheese and Cool Whip to be just under room temperature, so leave 'em on the counter while you're getting ready. That way they blend easier.)
Also: two pre-made graham cracker pie shells.
- These are easy to make from scratch if you don't mind baking a little bit. Just crush (or buy pre-crushed) graham crackers until you have about 2 Cups worth, melt a stick of butter, mix together with a fork and add whatever sugars or spices you like. Mush into place in a 9 in. pie pan and then bake for about 15 minutes at 350, or until it smells strongly of butter. Mmmm!
There is absolutely nothing complicated about this pie. That's what I love about it. From start to finish, you can have a mostly home made PNB pie in about 30 minutes. Delicious! Of course, you'll want to plan on freezing it for about an hour, or if you have plenty of time, just leave it in the fridge and it should firm up just fine.
1. Combine and blend the cream cheese, confectioner's sugar and milk.
2. Add the Peanut butter, mix well
3. Fold in the Cool Whip. (Needless to say, it 'folds' much easier if it isn't frozen!)
4. Pour into pie crust and top with whatever you like. I used a cheese grater to top mine with some chocolate flakes. It kind of made a mess, but its delicious! Just remember that its nearly impossible to grate (Or handle at all) regular chocolate. You need to use baking chocolate. That may seems obvious to some, but for those of us that are just learning as we go, its a helpful tip. From experience, I can say that a regular chocolate bar will become a melt-y, mushy, mess long before you can even get it out of the package.
With a nice topping of grated chocolate, or chopped nuts, or chocolate syrup (Or all three!), this pie can look pretty special. And presentation is everything! Well, almost. Taste doesn't hurt either!
BY THE WAY: This recipe makes two pies. Which, if you ask me, is even better. One for me here in the cabin, and one to share!
Baking- or I guess I should say 'assembling'- this pie reminds me of family so much. Its a comforting ritual... doing somehting familiar and standing near the freezer in the heat of July. How refreshing! It just feels good. I hope that all of you have wonderful Fourth of July weekends, enjoying friends and family and the Freedom that makes this Nation unlike any other.
"How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in Unity" -Praise the Lord!
-Psalm 133:1
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