WE MADE IT.
It’s FRIYAYYYYY and I have vegan peanut butter pies with pretzel crust and dark chocolate ganache for you. Sound good? Don’t let the vegan part scare you. These are the best peanut butter pies I’ve ever had and they are much better for you then ones with cream cheese, cool whip, whipped cream, or butter. Win win right?! Totes.
This recipe is another one that I got inspiration for in Chicago back in April. As much as I love sweets, I don’t normally order dessert. Honestly, I’d rather buy another cocktail then pay $10-15 for dessert lol. BUT my coworker Jen was like we can split a dessert?! So I glanced at the menu and said well I can’t turn down peanut butter pie so that’s what we ordered and OMG IT WAS AMAZING. I told myself that I was only going to have one bite but naturally that “one bite” turned into like half the slice. I regret nothing. That peanut butter pie had a pretzel crust, then a layer of chocolate fudge, then peanut butter pie filling. Finally, it was topped with toasted meringue. Sounds to-die-for right? I agree, that’s why I HAD to recreate it. Now I kind of made it upside down but I have two somewhat legitimate reasons for that:
- I wasn’t planning to top mine with toasted meringue because I wanted it to be vegan and eggs equal not vegan.
- Once there was no meringue topping, I realized that swapping the order of peanut butter filling and the chocolate layer would yield the same flavor but a prettier result.
And boom. MY peanut butter pies were born!
I think my favorite part about these peanut butter pies is the pretzel crust. The salty crunchy pretzels make for a perfect shell to hold the creamy peanut butter pie filling!
So you must be wondering… if there isn’t any cream cheese, cool whip, whipped cream, or butter in the peanut butter filling then what’s in there?! I’ll tell you… peanut butter (obviously) and COCONUT CREAM. Y’all know how much I love my coconut cream. Don’t be worried if you don’t like the taste of coconut though. The flavor of peanut butter is so strong that it easily over powers the slight coconut flavor from the coconut cream. However, the coconut cream does make for super creamy and light peanut butter pie filling. There was a little filling left over and I ate it with a spoon in about 2 seconds. SO GOOD. And addictive. Crazy addictive. Drool.
Finally, we have dark chocolate ganache on top, which basically kind of makes these giant peanut butter cups. Not complaining.
Oh and did I mention that these mini pies only require EIGHT INGREDIENTS?! Word.
Simple, creamy, salty, and sweet mini vegan peanut butter pies with pretzel crust and dark chocolate ganache! You are welcome.
Specialty diets: dairy free, egg free, vegetarian, vegan
Ingredients
- 10 oz salted pretzels (I used twists)
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar (light is fine too)
- 2 (14 oz) cans of coconut cream, chilled over night in the fridge (we want the solid part only)
- 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter (chunky peanut butter = the worst)
- 1/4 cup real maple syrup (not that fake shit)
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips (check labels to make sure they don't contain dairy if vegan)
- 1/3 cup coconut milk (any milk will do, use dairy-free milk if vegan)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Prepare pretzel crust: Pulse pretzels in a food processor for about 30 seconds or until only small bits remain. Add in melted coconut oil and brown sugar. Pulse again until well combined. Press pretzel mixture into 6 jumbo muffin tin cups, covering the bottom and all sides of each muffin cup. You will have extra pretzel mixture, this is OKAY. We will use the rest later as garnish (so set it aside and don't throw it away). Bake crusts for 10-12 minutes (should be golden and firm) then allow to cool completely before filling.
- Make peanut butter pie filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the chilled coconut cream solids (discard the liquid or save for smoothies) and beat on medium until smooth (about 2 minutes). Then add in the peanut butter and maple syrup and mix until light, creamy, and well combined (1-2 minutes).
- Fill the pies: Once the pretzel crusts are cooled, fill all six pies with peanut butter coconut cream filling. Place jumbo muffin tin in freezer for about 30 minutes to allow pie filling to harden.
- Make the dark chocolate ganache: When you have about 5 minutes left of chilling time, start making your dark chocolate ganache. Add dark chocolate chips to a medium bowl. Add coconut milk to a small sauce pan then bring to a low simmer over medium heat. Once simmering, turn heat off then pour the coconut milk over the chocolate chips. Let sit for about 5 minutes (don't touch!) then gently stir to combine using a spatula until smooth ganache forms.
- Complete the pies: Remove muffin tin from freezer then gently remove pies from tin and place on serving plate. Top each pie with a large spoonful of ganache (using the back of your spoon to evenly spread it out over the peanut butter filling) plus a sprinkle of leftover pretzel/coco oil/brown sugar mixture. Work quickly as the ganache will harden relatively fast. Place pies back in the freezer for about 10 minutes then serve!
Notes
I recommend serving these chilled 🙂
Three days, three posts! That’s how I make up for being MIA all weekend. Woohoo!
Hope y’all have a fabulous weekend. I’ll be cooking/baking my little heart out for blog content plus attending a friend’s bridal shower! OH and I’ll get to see Tom for one day while he’s home between his London and California work trips (#datenight). 🙂
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment or tag a photo #appetitesanonymous on instagram!! I’d love to see your peanut butter pies in action. Byyyyyeeee, friends!
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