Peanut Butter Pie

1. Stage

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Stage

Make the crust: Place the cookies in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until they become crumbs. Pulse in the salted butter, sugar, and salt until combined and the mixture feels like wet sand and clumps when pressed together.

3. Stage

Bake the crust: Spread the crumbs into a 9-inch pie dish and press firmly into the bottom and sides of the pan. (Depending on the depth of your pan you may need fewer crumbs; just remove a few tablespoons if it feels like too much and proceed.) Bake the crust in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or it is dry to the touch and feels firm. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a rack before filling.

4. Stage

Make the filling: Beat 1 cup of the whipping cream to a stiff peak—you can use a hand mixer or a stand mixer for this. Scrape the whipped cream into another bowl and set aside. In the same mixing bowl that you beat the cream, beat the cream cheese and 1/2 cup of powdered sugar together until creamy and combined. Add the peanut butter and beat until smooth and creamy. The mixture may not look totally emulsified at this point, but it will smooth out once you fold in the whipped cream. Stir 1/3 of the whipped cream into the peanut butter to lighten the mixture. Fold in the remaining 2/3, in two batches.

5. Stage

Fill and chill the pie: Spread the filling into the baked and cooled crust. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 2 days.

6. Stage

Assemble the toppings: When ready to serve, whip 1 cup of cream with 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar to a medium-soft peak. (Double this amount if you want tall swoops of cream on the pie.) Chop up the peanut butter cups. Place the chocolate chips and peanut butter in separate microwave-safe bowls and stir a teaspoon of oil into each. Melt in the microwave in 30 second bursts, and stir until smooth.

7. Stage

Assemble and serve: Dollop the whipped cream on top of the pie and smooth it into a thick layer. Drizzle with melted chocolate and peanut butter, and sprinkle with chopped peanut butter cups. Once topped with whipped cream, serve immediately. Leftovers keep for 4 days in the fridge, although the topping may deflate and weep a little.