Gale Grand has a decadent recipe for Peanut Butter Pie. I made 1.5x the original recipe for both the filling and the crust, but added my own twist with a thin layer of ganache—and not just any ganache either, but a dark chocolate espresso ganache. The flavor was spectacular! The nutty crust and intense chocolate-espresso were the perfect complements to the creamy peanut-butter filling.

For an interesting variation, try Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake or Chocolate Espresso Peanut Butter Bars, the latter with a cream-free peanut butter spread similar to Alton Brown’s peanut butter pie filling.

The Crust

The crust tastes similar to nutter butter, but with a crunchier crumbly texture and better flavor. Perfect. Chocolate lovers: resist the urge to replace the graham crackers with a chocolate crumb. The chocolate will come later and in style.

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