This creamy Amish peanut butter pie recipe is filled with small peanut butter crumbles, a creamy layer of homemade vanilla pudding, and topped with homemade whipped cream and more peanut butter! Nested into a traditional pie crust, this old-fashioned pie screams nostalgia.
¼cupunsalted butter cut into tablespoon pieces (57g)
1teaspoonvanilla paste or extract
Peanut Butter Crumbles
½cupall-purpose flour60g
1 ½cupspowdered sugar180g
1cuppeanut butter270g
Whipped Cream
1cupheavy whipping cream8 fl oz
¼cuppowdered sugar30g
2teaspoonsvanilla paste or extract
Instructions
Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin, then roll out the dough until it's ⅛" thick.
1 disc sweet pie crust
Note: turn the pastry a quarter turn every few rolls, and dust with additional flour as sticking occurs.
Add the pie dough to the pie plate, then crimp as desired. Freeze for 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400℉/205℃.
Remove the dough from the freezer and dock it all over the sides and bottom with a fork.
Crumble up a piece of parchment paper, then unwrap it and add it to the pie crust. Fill completely with pie weights or dried rice or beans.
Bake the crust for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and use the parchment paper to remove the weights.
Return to the oven to bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until all moisture is gone from the bottom of the pie crust.
Filling
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and sugar, then add the eggs and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
¼ cup cornstarch , ½ cup granulated sugar , 2 large eggs
Prepare a large bowl with a fine mesh strainer – you will need this immediately after your pastry cream comes off the heat.
Pour the milk and salt into a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and bring it to just under a boil, stirring occasionally so you don’t burn the milk solids on the bottom of the pan.
2 cups whole milk , ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Once the milk is simmering well, add ⅓ of the milk to the egg mixture and whisk constantly. Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan with the rest of the milk and return to medium high heat.
Whisking vigorously and constantly, the mixture will begin to thicken and you will see the small milk bubbles start to disappear. Once this has happened, the mixture will quickly thicken and boil. Allow it to boil for about 30 seconds, then remove it from the heat and pass it through the sieve into the bowl. Use the whisk/rubber spatula/wooden spoon to mix the custard around to get it through the sieve.
Allow the pastry cream to cool to 140℉, then whisk in one tablespoon of butter at a time. Don’t add a new piece until the other has been fully incorporated. Once all butter has been added, add the vanilla and mix to combine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and press the wrap directly on the pastry cream so it doesn’t form a skin. Put the pastry cream in the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours.
¼ cup unsalted butter , 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
Peanut Butter Crumbles
Add the flour to a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second increments stirring in between, until the mixture reaches 160℉ on a digital thermometer.
½ cup all-purpose flour
Note: heat treating the flour must be done in order to be safe to eat.
Pass the flour through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl to remove any hard chunks. Add the powdered sugar and mix with a fork to combine.
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
Add the peanut butter, and mash the ingredients together until it comes together and doughy crumbles form. This takes a bit of elbow grease.
1 cup peanut butter
Whipped Cream
Add the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or use a handheld mixer) and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form.
1 cup heavy whipping cream, ¼ cup powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract
Assembly
Sprinkle ¾ of the peanut butter crumbles into bottom of the crust.
Pour the vanilla pudding mixture overtop and smooth it to meet the edges.
Spread a layer of whipped cream over the pudding, then top with the remaining crumbles.
Notes
Store the Amish peanut butter pie uncovered in the fridge for up to three days. Note that the pie crust will begin to get slightly chewy from the filling, and the whipped cream will begin to weep after day two (but will still taste great).This pie should not be frozen.Tips:
Make the pudding up to three days in advance and the pie crust one day in advance to help with timing.
Have all tools needed for the vanilla pudding set up and ready to go prior to starting to make it.
If you don't have a digital thermometer, allow the custard to cool for about 5-7 minutes, stirring every minute, before adding the butter.
Using a freshly baked (and cooled) pie crust and eating it the same day will taste best.
Getting the peanut butter crumbles to come together takes a bit of elbow grease, but just keep pressing along with the tines of your fork.