Grandma Beatty’s Peanut Butter Pie
By now it’s no surprise to you what a pie geek I am. It’s always time for pie. Pie is the universal food of choice for all meals at all times. Can I get an amen?!
Make Pie not War!
Sheila Johnson for President!
This pie is my husbands favorite. My Grandma always had the ingredients on hand to whip one up if she knew we were coming to visit.
I prefer to make my quick homemade vanilla pudding and real whipping cream instead of boxed pudding and cool-whip like grandma, but honestly my husband does not discriminate! He loves this pie either way. And seriously the homemade pudding is pretty dern easy so …..well see for yourself!
In a microwave safe bowl combine flour, sugar, and salt, mix. In large measuring cup whisk together egg yolks and milk. (Ignore the 4 yolks I made a double batch when I took these photos.) Whisk the wet and dry ingredients together. Pop bowl in microwave for 3 minutes on high, remove and whisk until smooth, repeat. You will have to repeat this step 3 or 4 times or until pudding is smooth and thick.
Bring on the good stuff! Vanilla and butter. Whiskum right on in there. Can you smell it?
Powdered Sugar, crunchy peanut putter….creamy if you prefer, a fork, go at it!
Make some crumbles…but no eating you need this for the pie…remember! My kiddos can never keep their paws out of this stuff!
Assembly is simple. Take half of the peanut butter crumble and sprinkle it in the bottom of your crust. Then pour pudding over top.
Let’s talk crust for a minute……
Please don’t let crust keep you from making pie. I know it freaks some people out. If it freaks you out then purchase premade crusts in the refrigerator section of your grocery store. My grandma always kept a couple store bought crusts on hand for pies. Sometimes she made crust from scratch, but as she got older it was harder for her to stand too long in the kitchen. Her pies were still full of love! If you don’t mind the mess and little extra work of making your own pie crust well then go to town! Here is my recipe if you would like it.
Back to the pie…sprinkle a few more crumbles on top of the pudding, saving some for garnish. Almost there….
Whip together heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks form, pile on top of pudding and garnish with remaining peanut butter crumbles. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving…or just dig in if you can’t wait. I won’t judge!
I cannot share this recipe with out telling you that I have had a draft of this post for…..well a very long time, nearly two years. In fact I had to retake the pictures, because the old ones kinda stunk. I’m mad at myself for not sharing this then, but every time I went to post it, I ended up in a sobbing mess and didn’t really know what to say. Jennifer Perillo author of the amazing blog in Jennies kitchen and the book Homemade with Love wrote this post in August of 2011 after loosing the love of her life, Mikey. See peanut butter pie is my loves favorite pie too….how often have I put off doing for my loves till tomorrow what I should have done today. Grandma Beatty left this world this past January. I miss her. She was a grouchy ol cuss…but she knew how to love regardless. One thing she taught me was to always have the ingredients ready to make someone you love a peanut butter pie. I could call her and say “Grandma you mind if we pop by?” and when we got there she would be just finishing up a pie for us to share together. She always had ice cream and root beer too! As I re read Jennies post I was reminded today is our only guarantee so we need to be prepared to love those around us. Don’t put it off till tomorrow.
Jennies initial post caused a domino effect of kindness and love that she never expected. I confess I made Kenny a peanut butter pie that Friday after Jennies post and hugged everyone I came in contact with just a little harder and longer.
Grandma Beatty’s Peanut Butter Pie
Equipment
- pie dish 9"
Ingredients
- 1 Pie Crust pastry or graham cracker
Pudding
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1/4 cup Flour
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 2 Egg Yolks
- 2 cups Whole Milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 tablespoon Butter room tempurature
Peanut Butter Crumble
- 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
- 1/2 cup Chunky Peanut Butter
Whipped Topping
- 1 1/2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
- 2 teaspoons Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
Instructions
- Prepare pastry crust by rolling out and placing in a 9 inch pie dish, crimp edges and prick bottom with fork, bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. If you decide to use a store bought graham cracker crust, well then of course you can skip this step all together and move on to the pudding!
Pudding
- Combine sugar, flour, and salt in a microwave safe bowl. In a separate bowl whisk together egg yolks and milk, add to the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Place bowl in microwave and cook pudding on high for 3 minutes, remove and whisk. Repeat this step 4-5 times until pudding is smooth and thick. Set aside.
Peanut Butter Crumbles
- In a separate bowl combine powdered sugar and peanut butter with a fork until crumbly. Set aside.
- Sprinkle sugar and vanilla over heavy whipping cream in a mixing bowl whip on high speed with beaters until stiff peaks form.
- Pie Assembly: After crust and pudding have cooled to room temperature take 3/4 of the peanut butter crumble and sprinkle it over the bottom of the crust, cover with pudding top with whipping cream and sprinkle with remaining crumble for garnish. Store in refrigerate until chilled through.
Notes
Now Summer is upon me. This means kids 24/7. Sometimes as a stay at home mom I get grouchy and resentful. My time is not my own. Busy schedules don’t stop in the summer months when you have teenagers! The feeding frenzy of kids in and out, wet towels and bathing suits all over the house, doors left open and flies buzzing in my kitchen is just around the corner. This summer instead of looking at all the time I don’t have for myself, I’m choosing to be thankful and embrace all the time I do have with my family. Four more days left of school…so long quiet house, hello lovely chaos.
Much love, Sheila
I haven’t made a peanut butter pie since I was probably in the 6th grade, but look forward to making this one (although may take the easy route). Thanks Sheila for the inspiration!
No shame in the easy route! Enjoy! 😉
I want the t-shirt…I’m making the pie…it will be great and I can’t wait! 🙂 I’m a believer and I’m pie eater…Yay!
Love it! Shoot me an email at [email protected] if you would really like a t-shirt. I hope you enjoy the pie! Thanks for stopping by ; )
Three things:
One – I have a basic PB pie recipe too, but this is a neat twist with the crumbles!! But, I love adapting it to make Nutella Pie, Biscoff Pie, etc.
Two – Did you know there is a Pie Town, NM? I went there and they have a Pie Town cookbook, my goal is to bake my way through THAT! That’s A LOT of pie, y’all! 🙂 (haha)
Three – I want that shirt! Pie is my thing!
xoxo
Katie, How did we not figure out our mutual love of pie this past weekend….dang, that’s important stuff right there! xoxo Sheila
Love your website!
Kim, Thank YOU!! Thanks for stopping by…don’t be a stranger ; ) Sheila
I have so many special memories of my grandmother, and many recipe cards that belonged to her, they are worth more than gold to me.
Becky, I am so with you on that, I have a old cookbook that has my great grandma’s hand written notes in it, truly a treasure. Sheila
This pie looks fantastic! Definitely need to try. I always love your recipes. I remember reading Jennie’s post back in 2011. Brought tears again today. Thanks for the reminder to embrace today!
Thanks for your kind words! xoxox Sheila
Sheila, this post is so so perfect for us moms as we enter summer. I’m already feeling overwhelmed bc we’ve had a rough month of May and I’m striving to get my head above water…. entering summer with zero preparedness. This post hit the spot for me. Thanks Friend!!! {hugs}
Kim, Yeah! xoxox So good to see you pretty face pop up in my comments! Thanks for stopping by. Much love and many blessings to you! Sheila
Oh wow, this looks just incredible Sheila! I love family recipes and thank you so much for sharing yours for this luscious pie. See you at the Ziplist party tomorrow!
Georgia, Thanks for stopping by! I can’t wait to meet you tomorrow ; ) It’s going to be a great weekend!! Sheila
This is the absolute best sort of recipe… those old recipe cards with smudges on them are treasured in my house too. Looks delish!
Thanks Lori! I’m looking forward to seeing you in Austin! xoxox Sheila
I love Grandma B’s peanut butter pie. We don’t have Cool Whip in Australia so it will be all homemade but I can’t wait to give it a try.
Maureen, i hope you love it just don’t swap out the the Peanut Butter for vegamite! ; ) tee hee just kidding! Did you get your book yet?
I did! I have it sitting right next to me. I’m nearly finished reading 🙂
Yummy, yummy, yummy! I’ll trade a beach day/boat day/mommy drink day for just one Sheila made peanut butter pie!
BEST PIE EVER!
Oh my! I must make this!
Sheila, How do I not know about this pudding? When I make pies I always do homemade on the stovetop pudding with cornstarch(which I on’t like to use anymore) stirring constantly til boiling and thick. I can accomplish this in the microwave without cornstarch? I’m all in!!! Do you make chocolate pudding tis way too?
Lovely comments about Jenny and Mikey. Nice people.
Yes you can make this pudding with chocolate. it’s under the best chocolate pie ever on my blog. Actually a recipe from the Point of Grace cook book, I just adapted it for vanilla. My mom always made homemade pudding that way too, stovetop with cornstarch, but I could never get it to turn out, it was always runny. This microwave recipe works every time! It’s the best thing since sliced bread let me tell ya!
OK…yum on the pie! I hope you make one of these soon for a get together. Thanks for the reminder to look at the upside of spending endless summer days with your peeps AND to hug/love on those close to you as often as you can. Your the best….
I am making this peanut butter pie TODAY! Thanks for posting
Betsy, I hope you enjoy! Sheila
Loved your post as always. You’re very wise to embrace every moment with your children. Best investment you’ll ever make…coming from my father, a banker. Would love a pie o’clock t-shirt. Happy summer!!
Can’t wait to try this pie! I also would love a T-shirt. Thanks!
Oh wow!! This looks and sounds incredible!! Perfect for any summer day!
I love that you speak of your grandmother with such love….even though she was grouchy, my grandmother was too, but she had so much love for grand kids and great grand kids! Sometimes grouchy was trying to deal with; now that she has passed we speak of some of her “grouchiest” moments with laughter and love :). I will make this pie for my brother in law…. A peanut butter pie nut!!
I’m glad you understand what I mean…I kinda loved her grouchy days as much as her sweet ones! And you are right now that she is gone, thinking back on some of her grouchier moments make us laugh! I hope your bro-n-law loves this pie as much as my Kenny does. thanks for stopping by, Sheila
Beautiful post as usual, my favorite line is the last one….hello lovely chaos. I am looking forward to the kiddos being home! Happy summer to you friend.
Chelle’, I miss you! Can we have a pool day this summer…I’ll fix you and the boys lunch! xoxo Sheila
Sheila,
I’m making the pie! I’ll gladly give up my gluten free life for a slice of this yummy looking pie! And I LOVE peanut butter! And…. are you selling your t-shirts? I have a friend who would absolutely adore it! She loves pie as much as you do. Let me know. I’d like to buy one for her!
Thanks! Lisa
The pie looks yummy, but the t-shirt is so fun!!!
This recipe sounds so yummy! I love pie – one of my favorite desserts…heck, who am I kidding, I love all desserts! I will be loving and caring for our two youngest grandchildren this summer for 3 days each week, and we will be baking one day each week (the youngest, age 9 now) loves to crack eggs on the counter (never the edge of the bowl) – his eyes get so big when egg seeps out a little. So – we will be making Grandma Betty’s Peanut Butter pie on Thursday. I’m grateful for more time to build memories with all 4 of my adorable grandchildren. Thank, Sheila!
Janey, What great memories! I have have so many memories of being in the kitchen with my mom and grandma. These are the things we should cherish, cracking eggs and hugging cute kiddos! xoxox muchlove to you! Sheila
This pie looks amazing, Sheila. I can’t wait to try it. My husband and I are celebrating our 10th anniversary this week, so maybe I’ll make it for him.
Looks good. Hey if you ever feel like sharing what to do with your teens this summer, share, I have 4 teen at home and I always had everything figure out and plained, not no more, I’m having a hard time coming up with ideas to do now that they are teens, when they were little they liked everything and everything was exciting, but now – its work…. Share if you ever feel up to it. Love your blog.
Pam, I agree, teens are hard. Gone are the days of sitting around the kiddy pool. I will think and pray about a post I could share. Thanks for reading! xoxo Sheila
What a lovely post, and that pie looks incredible. I’m looking forward to the day I’ll be ready to make that pie again. I know it’ll happen one day.
xo—Jennie
Wish I had that pie to chow on right now!!
Ohmagawd….this pie looks ridiculously delicious!!! Much love to Grandma Beatty. xoxo