This peanut butter surprise pie has a honey graham cracker test, peanut butter custard in the center, and a toasted meringue topping! This peanut butter custard pie is rich, delicious, and incredibly easy to make!
All right, so I could say I made this honor of Pi Day. I could also say I made this in honor of a recent birthday.
But that would be a lie.
Pi Day has since passed, as has my brother’s birthday (conveniently on the same day–3/14), and even had my brother’s birthday not been long gone, he’s a vegan and cannot partake in my sugary delights.
However, this pie is more or less on the healthier side when it comes to desserts. It certainly is not going to qualify as a super food by any means, but it’s healthier than the alternative.
When I was younger, we really did not have dessert often. We had cake for birthdays, pie at Thanksgiving and Christmas, and a delicious shortcake on 4th of July. As far as everyday type desserts, we could only eat ice cream (or a dessert-like food) on Fridays and Saturdays. As a kid, there was nothing like Friday and Saturday nights. As an adult, I plan to use that same technique with my kids, for it instilled in my siblings and me an appreciation for health rather than a dependency on sweets.
I realize the irony here since I mainly blog about my sweet addictions, however, I really do like healthy foods.
Anyway, because we rarely had speciality desserts, when my parents would make this pie, it was a big deal. Full of peanut buttery goodness, amazing meringue, and the perfect graham cracker crust–this pie is to die for.
I made a bit of a mistake when making this pie. I accidentally made a peanut butter custard instead of making a layer of peanut butter and a layer of custard as my dad always did when making this pie. But, you know what? I kind of dig my mistake. 😉
Peanut Butter Surprise Pie
Prep Time
25 mins
Cook Time
35 mins
Total Time
1 hr
This peanut butter surprise pie has a honey graham cracker test, peanut butter custard in the center, and a toasted meringue topping! This peanut butter custard pie is rich, delicious, and incredibly easy to make!
Course:
Dessert
Cuisine:
American
Keyword:
peanut butter surprise pie
Servings: 12 -14 Slices
Ingredients
Honey Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
- 1 stick butter
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Custard Filling:
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3/4 cups peanut butter
Honey Filling:
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Meringue:
- 4 egg whites
- 6 Tbsp sugar
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter and pour over crushed graham crackers. Stir in vanilla and combine all ingredients. Once combined, press into a 9" pie plate. Cook for 10 minutes.
-
For the custard, mix milk, honey, and corn starch into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly.
-
Lightly beat the yolks in a bowl, and once the custard mixture has reached a boil, temper the eggs by mixing a spoonful of the hot custard mix with the yolks. Then, pour the yolk mixture into the saucepan and continue cooking the custard until thick (about 10 minutes or so). Pull off heat, add in butter, vanilla, and peanut butter.
-
For the honey filling, pour honey over graham crust, then sprinkle chocolate chips over the honey. Pour custard on top.
-
For the meringue, whip the egg whites until foamy. Gradually add in the sugar and the mixture to whip until it forms stiff peaks. Pour the meringue over the custard, and cook in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the meringue is golden brown.
-
Chill before serving.
Both pies are equally delicious. The original recipe is not as rich because the peanut butter layer is mellowed by the custard, while the second is very rich since the peanut butter is the custard.
You can’t go wrong either way. Plus, there’s very little white sugar in this pie, right? It’s a good thing.