08.10.2008 Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie

can you tell I found lots and lots of vanilla soy yogurt for cheap recently? because I sure did.

the first few days, I like to act healthy(ish) and enjoy it on its own. but that gets boring rather quickly.
after that, I try to come up with baked goods recipes to use it up. but then my freezer (and husband) gets full and threatens to spew all its contents in my face: that, my friends, is really something I can live without experiencing.

that’s where this hero of a dessert storms in and saves your day!
(it’d wear a costume if it could, but nothing fits.)

the filling for this deliciously creamy pie will definitely make for leftovers, which you can place in 6 small ramequins, freeze, and nuke for 10 seconds to gobble up as a snack when you feel like the whole world hates you. there, there: it really doesn’t, but everyone gets paranoid sometimes.

the crust is rather thick, so halve it if you prefer. feel free to throw in some sort of sweetener in the crust recipe if you’d like: a couple Ts of raw sugar, Sucanat, or even some maple syrup should do the trick. if you go for the syrup, try cutting down on the almond milk a little so that the crust doesn’t get too soaked.
I think it works without adding anything, but I like food that’s not overly sweet, so…

serves at least 8:

the crust

preheat oven to 375F.

2 1/4 cup light spelt flour
3/4 t fine sea salt
1/4 cup + 2 T canola oil
1/4 cup + 2 T unsweetened almond milk

place in food processor; pulse several times until dough forms.
if you don’t have a food processor, simply mix all ingredients with a couple of forks in a large bowl, combine well, and knead a little to assemble.

roll the resulting dough out and place in a round 9-inch cake pan coated with non-stick cooking spray. you can also press it with your hands, if you’re looking for the easy button like I always do. keep in mind that the less you handle your dough, the better/flakier it is.
for decreased shrinkage, place the prepared dough in the freezer for 30 minutes before baking it.
cover with foil and place pie weights on top. bake for 20 minutes, remove foil, bake for another 5 minutes, until golden.
remove from oven and from pan, let cool completely before placing filling inside.

the filling

32oz vanilla soy yogurt
12oz semisweet chocolate chips (melt in microwave or double-boiler)
1 cup chunky all-natural peanut butter

place all ingredients in a food processor: blend until completely smooth, stopping several times to scrape sides with a rubber spatula.

it’s time to assemble the pie!
pour as much of the filling as you can into the crust up to as high as possible without having it overflow. (remember: leftovers can and will be mighty tasty!)

go ahead and have a blast decorating your pie with vegan whipped topping, chocolate shavings, caramelized banana slices or other fruit, candied nuts….personally, I like to keep it simple.

place the whole thing in your freezer, until completely set. it’ll take a few hours for it to happen.

as long as you wrap the pie tightly, or place it in a good Tupperware kind of storing dish, it’ll keep well in your freezer for a few weeks. so that, you know, you don’t have to eat it all in one shot.
just remember to only wrap it up once it has had time to freeze a little, so that the filling doesn’t stick to whatever wrapping device you decide to go for.
it slices up easily even once frozen.
as soon as you’re ready to have a go at it, just take it out of the freezer and leave it at room temperature for about 15 minutes before enjoying, to let the flavors come back to life.