No-Bake Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Pies

Summer is here. With record high temperatures, even those of us who love baking don’t want to turn the oven on. I’m kicking off the summer with a decadent No-Bake Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Pies.

 These mini pies feature a classic graham cracker crust, a nutty salted caramel layer with smooth chocolate peanut butter cream and topped with drizzles of salted caramel and chocolate peanut butter sauce. It’s a chocolate peanut butter lover’s dream. Not to mention that it’s perfectly portioned in mini form and you don’t have to share it if you don’t want to.

Notes:

Peanut Butter – I used Jif Naturals creamy peanut butter. I made a few test batches, one using a different brand of peanut butter. There is a noticeable difference. The batch with Jif is so smooth. It yields such a beautiful chocolate peanut butter mixture. Jif is my preferred peanut butter for this recipe. Using different peanut butter brands may yield different results.

Caramel Sauce – I used a homemade salted caramel sauce. A store bought caramel sauce will also work. I prefer the salted caramel sauce to a regular caramel sauce as I find the salt helps cut some of the richness.

Peanuts – for the same reason of using salted caramel sauce, I used a salted dry roasted peanut. The salt helps balance the sweetness. It also provides texture to the dessert. Plus, I like to sprinkle peanuts on top, so anyone who is allergic will know that this dessert contains peanut.  

Make ahead – these mini pies can be made ahead of time. They set nicely when made the night before. When testing these, I made multiple batches and ended up freezing some of them. I placed them in airtight freezer-safe containers. I thawed them in the fridge for a few hours, and they were just as good.

No-Bake Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Pies

Yields: about 15 mini pies
Time: 2.5 hours

Crust:
1 sleeve (145g) graham crackers
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
5 tablespoons (70g) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
1 cup (160g) semisweet chocolate
½ cup (150g) creamy peanut butter (I used Jif Natural)
1 ½ (355 ml) heavy whipping cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
1 cup (125g) salted roasted peanuts,
1 cup (8oz) caramel sauce (homemade or store bought) – preferably salted variety

Topping:
¼ cup (40g) semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter (I used Jif Natural)
1-2 tablespoons caramel sauce (homemade or store bought)
2 tablespoons (15g) salted roasted peanuts, chopped

2 muffin pans and 15 cupcake liners

1. Line muffin pans with cupcake liners and set aside.
2. Using a food processor to crush the graham crackers until you get fine crumbs. You can also crush the graham crackers in a plastic bag. Transfer the crumbs into a bowl along with the granulated sugar. Stir to incorporate the sugar. Add the melted butter and stir to combine. The crumbs should look coarse wet sand. Scoop a spoonful of the crust mixture into the prepared muffin pans. Use the bottom of a ¼ cup measuring cup to pact the crust into liner. Place the crust in the refrigerator to chill while you work on the filling.
3. To make the caramel layer of the filling, start by rough chopping 1 cup of salted roasted peanuts. Transfer the peanuts to a bowl with 1 cup of salted caramel sauce. Stir to combine. Divide the mixture and scoop on top of the prepared crust.
4. To make the chocolate peanut butter layer of the filling, add the ½ cup of peanut butter and 1 cup chocolate chips to a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals and stir in between until the mixture is smooth. Let it cool for a couple of minutes before adding the vanilla extract (if using) and heavy whipping cream. Whip with a hand mixer (or stand mixer) until you get stiff peaks and deep tracks have formed in the cream. Divide and scoop the chocolate peanut butter cream on top of the caramel layer.
5. To make chocolate peanut butter drizzle topping, add the ¼ cup of semisweet chocolate chips with 1 heaping tablespoon of peanut butter and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Repeat the microwave process if needed until you get a smooth mixture. Drizzle on top of the pies.
6. Drizzle with more salted caramel sauce and top with a sprinkle of more peanuts.
7. Let the mini pies chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
8. Enjoy!