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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

(Almost) No-Bake Nutella Pie with Peanut Butter Crust

Recently, I've had a few different people open the door to my pantry and laugh at the two GIANT containers of Nutella sitting on the top shelf. Yes, it's safe to say we like Nutella. I haven't baked with it in awhile--not since these Nutella brownie bottom cheesecake bars--because a certain someone in our household (not me, for once!) has a major affinity for slathering Nutella all over croissants and toast and I didn't want him to be deprived of one of his favorite snacks!

Rather than let yet another person discover our abundance of Nutella hiding in the pantry, I decided I'd better use some of it up....perfect timing because I ran across this recipe for a No-Bake Nutter Butter Nutella Pie. I changed the recipe slightly, making a (baked) peanut butter graham cracker crust instead of using Nutter Butter cookies and topping with chocolate syrup.

The outcome? For starters, I've decided peanut butter graham cracker crusts win over regular graham cracker crusts. WHOA. Also, you can't go wrong with a filling primarily consisting of cream cheese and Nutella. Served cold from the fridge, this is a refreshing warm weather dessert! (Next time I want to try freezing it, as I remember that we loved the Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte frozen, even though it was intended to be refrigerated.)


One Year Ago: Oven Baked Potato Chips



(Almost) No-Bake Nutella Pie with Peanut Butter Crust
heavily adapted from Lauren's Latest
*serves 8-10

Ingredients:
for the crust-
-1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
-1/4 cup butter, melted
-1/4 cup granulated sugar
-1/3 cup peanut butter

for the filling-
-16 oz. cream cheese, softened (I used 1 regular and 1 1/3 less fat)
-3/4 cup granulated sugar
-1/2 cup Nutella
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1/2 cup whipping cream

for the topping-
-chocolate syrup

Directions:
1. To make the crust, mix graham cracker crumbs, peanut butter, sugar, and butter in a large bowl, mixing until well combined (may need to use your hands to disperse the peanut butter). Press crust into a grease 9-inch pie plate, evenly distributing among the bottom and sides of the dish.
2. Bake crust at 375F for 8 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.
3. While crust is cooling, beat cream cheese with sugar in a large mixing bowl until blended and creamy. Mix in Nutella and vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add whipping cream, beating for 3 minutes or until mixture is thick.
4. Spread filling into prepared crust and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
5. Before serving, drizzle with chocolate syrup and cut into slices.