Mother humble and I were sorting through old recipes and talking about how dishes can go out of style. Like the once popular puff pastry stuffed with chicken in cream cheese recipe that just didn't sound good anymore. Many of her old recipes would make a cardiologist weep and lucky for all of us, her newer recipes emphasized a lighter fare. Flipping through the old recipes also brought up the infamous peanut butter pie.
My younger siblings and I loved this creamy peanut butter pie growing up. Until one day when I was six or seven, when I was told she wouldn't be making it anymore. Why? Mother Humble told me, and I quote "because it will kill you."
That was it.
No more peanut butter pies for twenty years.
So we were discussing the deadly nature of her old recipes and I reminded her about the time she told me as a kid that my favorite pie would kill me and how she would never make it again. She laughed and we both agreed we needed to resurrect the simple and deadly peanut butter pie while she was still in town.
Mother Humble's Dead Man's Peanut Butter Pie:
1 pie crust or gram cracker crust in a 10" pie pan or 4 similarly prepared 6" tarts
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 eight ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
Chocolate Glaze
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup heavy cream
Directions
In a bowl whip the cream with the granulated sugar and set aside. In your mixer beat the remaining ingredients until well blended. Reduce speed and slowly beat in the whip cream scraping down the sides of the bowl until just blended. Pour into your prepared pie crust and even out the top.
Prepare the glaze by placing the chocolate chips into a heat safe bowl and set aside. Bring the heavy cream to a simmer over medium heat and then pour over the chips and let stand for a minute then mix until smooth.
Smooth the glaze over the peanut butter pie and chill for several hours before serving. The dead men cut from extra pie crust are of course optional.
"Because it will kill you."
ReplyDeleteI nearly died laughing at this.
That pie sounds glorious, but I'll have to wait until my husband gets home in March to make it, since I would eat the whole thing myself if I make it now.
And I don't want to die.
Happy New Year to you in Seattle, I miss living there so much. Florida is simply not the same.
This post reminds me of this ultra digusting, yet completely nostalgic recipe my mom loves using pasta, evaporated milk and pepper jack cheese as a meal. My left ventricle skips a couple of beats just thinking about it now, but as kids, my brother and I ate that stuff up like it was crack. Of course, your PB pie sounds a lot better than my mom's spicy cheesy noodle dish.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it would lead to our demise, but what a way to go!! Looks fabulous!!!
ReplyDeleteLOVE the dead men on top!!! So funny and looks yummy too!
ReplyDeleteHahahah!! That is awesome!! The story and the recipe (and the little guys on top make it!!) :) great job!
ReplyDeleteSounds yummy. Men are cute too!
ReplyDeleteI'm cracking up - our killer food was not sweet; it was Tex-Mex. My mom must have fed us a million pounds of ground beef, always mixed with garlic, onions, green chiles, cheddar cheese as the base and always topped with more cheddar cheese and Fritos for the crunchy top. How many calories and trans-fats we consumed, but my mouth waters thinking about it...
ReplyDeleteAh yes, those were the days. When cholesterol (with a big wet side of even more cholesterol) was routine dinner fare.
ReplyDeleteHaha, the dead men are too cute! And btw, I know of healthier versions of the same pie and I was actually planning on making one soon.
ReplyDeleteI looove the dead man...
ReplyDeletenum num num.
ReplyDeleteHilarious! Sounds like something my mom would say. LOL
ReplyDeleteOops! Fantastic! I emailed the post to all my peanut butter loving friends. BTW, those brain cupcakes are also awesome. Great job!
ReplyDeleteOh Humble I have to tweet this!
ReplyDeleteYour photography rocks too, and with my sweet tooth I am having chocolate envy!
That looks so good, and the recipe is so deadly. My family suddenly developed a love of chicken pot pie, but only because I started making it old-school with a real pie crust and full fat. Some things are worth it.
ReplyDeleteYour little guys caught my eye on Tastespotting. Very funny! The pie looks awesome - and worthwhile. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThe little men on the pie are cute! And your story behind the pie is hilarious.
ReplyDeleteSounds DELICIOUS!!! It's so strange...I came across this recipe on foodgawker.com and thought it sounded great. Then I read your brief bio and noticed you are/were a biological anthropologist! I am a bio anthro student!
ReplyDeleteAnyway...I will make this soon.
Well I think your mom was misled by someone who never even tried your peanutbutter pie. Here you both are 20 years later still giving amazing recepes to the rest of the world. Even though I don't cook I love your blog. Well done to both of you for surviving and may God bless all of you and your families in 2010.
ReplyDeletehaha, this looks totally worth the mortal peril. the dead men are adorable, and i actually laughed out loud at your mother's euphemism. i'll have to make this for single girl's valentine's day dinner!
ReplyDeleteThis is too funny and I definitely have to try it! I laugh in the face of pie with death threats in the title. Mwahahahaha!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant photo... this will only kill your sweet tooth...with kindness!!!
ReplyDeleteCharming story too.
That was hilarious! I love the little men on top, but it's your writing that makes these posts Ms. Humble.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to more this year! :)
what a funny post. The pie ingredients do seem to indicate that it might kill you if you ate iti too many times over the years. However, it might just be worht it! Looks fantastic. I like the little crust people.
ReplyDeleteHaha, I think I actually would have been deathly scared if my mom ever said that to me. Good to know that one slice won't kill ya though!
ReplyDeleteHow did you make those men??!
I had a little cookie cutter for the men.
ReplyDeleteI love the look, too, though it really would kill me (peanut allergy). The little guy floating on top is too much....
ReplyDeleteThis is how I wish to die..........
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw the picture I thought "CSI Pie". Was not far off...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recipe. I just finished making this for a dinner party tonight. So easy. I tried to free hand the little dead guys but they looked more like star fish so I went with a skull and cross bones. I plan explaining how your post relates to the pie, so that people don't think I'm too strange... Thank you for all the wonderful post. I'm so inspired.
ReplyDeleteMy son saw it in the making and it was a struggle to let it chill and firm up. Wow. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't even wait for the left over peanut butter goodness to chill. I serouisly sat on the couch with a glass of milk and ate it out of the mixing bowl. I can't even pretend I feel bad about it either. It was that good.
ReplyDeleteI know...
ReplyDeleteStraight out of the mixing bowl, off the spatula and then the pie.
I can't make that pie any more.
It will kill me.
I made this yesterday... SOOO delicious... Thanks for the recipe. =D
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome! I love peanut butter pie, hoping it won't kill me (but it might). My mother resurrected some of her old recipes this Easter unbeknownst to me. . . and served up a horrific display of jello based salads. . . one real winner was a cucumber salad ring that looked and moved like an eel with cucumber seeds suspended in it, served with a cottage cheese sauce in the center. I'm nauseous just thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had the willpower to stay away from this pie for 2o years! :)
ReplyDelete