Peanut Butter Fudge Pie

I love desserts that don't require me to heat up the house with the oven in the summertime. This No Bake peanut butter pie definitely fits the bill. I wanted to make a nice dessert for Mrblocko for Father's Day weekend. (Yeah, I know that was weeks ago, but I'm slow in writing up these posts.) Not only was this pie great because It didn't require the oven, but it was quick and easy to put together. Oh, and it was delicious too! Can't beat that with a stick. I first saw a peanut butter pie recipe over at Pioneer Woman. Then I stumbled across one at Disney's Family Fun and Blisstree. They were all slightly different and I couldn't decide which one I thought was the best so I combined them all and came up with the following recipe:

No Bake Peanut Butter Pie
1 (6 oz) pre-made Graham cracker crust (or make your own)
1 (8 oz) package of softened cream cheese (I used neufachel)
1/2 c sugar (I used white but I think brown would give the pie a darker color)
1 c peanut butter (I used creamy)
1/2 c milk (I used skim)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 c (one 8 oz tub) cool whip (I used low fat)
1 (11.5 oz) jar hot fudge ice cream topping
10 Hershey's dark chocolate with peanut mini candy bars. chopped
peanuts for garnish

Heat your hot fudge topping so it is runny enough to stir. Let cool slightly. In the meantime, with an electric mixer, combine sugar and cream cheese until smooth. Then add peanut butter, milk, and vanilla. Blend until combined. By hand, gently fold in the cool whip, in 2 parts. Do not over mix or you will get a runny mess. Pour half of this mixture into your pie crust, level this out with a spatula. Then, carefully pour your hot fudge over the top of this. (I used about 3/4 of the container, because I wasn't sure if there was enough volume in the pan for the whole thing.) Carefully spread the fudge topping to the edges. Next, pour the remainder of the pie filling over the topping. Spread out to cover all the fudge. Top with chopped chocolate and peanuts. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour. Serve once the pie has set.

A word of caution, if you think your pie isn't setting up quick enough you can stick it in the freezer. However, if you leave it in there for too long it will be as hard as a rock and impossible to slice. You'll have to leave the pie on the counter and go run an errand to Home Depot or some such nonsense. By the time you get home your pie will be slice-able again. Hooray!