Shelly's Recipe

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CLOUD PIE

Category: Pies - Cream and Custard

Crust
1 pkg (2 to 2 1/2 cups) Oreo cookies, separated with sweet filling removed, crushed (run them through the food processor) or chocolate wafers
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

Filling
2 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter (avoid all-natural types)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 pint whipping cream, kept cold
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Mix cookie crumbs, sugar, and butter together into a spring form pan (9 1/2 or 10 1/2and press down into place. Bake for 8 minutes. (Be careful not to over bake. You want this a little on the soft side so you can cut it later.) Remove from oven and cool.

Beat whipped cream just until stiff peaks are formed. Add vanilla and continue mixing until stiff. Set aside.

Beat cream cheese, peanut butter, and sugar together until fluffy. Add whipped cream mixture and fold until well combined. Pour into cooled pie crust.

Melt chocolate chips in microwave. Stir occasionally until chocolate is smooth. (For an even prettier design, use 1/4 cup each of dark and milk chocolate and layer the two one on top of the other. I use two kinds of chocolate and made 4 layers.) Put a few tbsp of the melted chocolate into a heavy duty zip lock bag. Snip the very end of the bag. Slowly pipe out a design on the top of the pie. You can also use a squeeze bottle or pastry bag instead of a zip-lock bag if you have either handy. Chill for at least 4 hours or until set.

NOTE: To make it easier to cut, use a warm knife to cut through the chocolate. This is best achieved by submerging a sharp, long knife in a tall glass or pitcher of hot water. Keep a clean rag or paper towels close by too and wipe down the knife after each cut.