A Special Peanut M&M’s Peanut Butter Pie

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community. M&Ms inspired this Peanut Butter Pie - a fun baking with chocolate recipe. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and its client. #BakingIdeas

When I was growing up we didn't celebrate special occasions with cake. Birthdays or other celebrations were always enjoyed with a homemade pie baked by my Mom. Her specialty was cream pies but she put her special touch on all of her baking.

Of course my husband is also a fan of cream pies, so to thank him for all the extra help he has given me around the house this past week or two, I decided to break out a classic peanut butter pie recipe, but change it up to include his favorite Peanut M&M's.

I headed into Walmart to grab all the supplies. Don't worry, this recipe is super easy and only requires a few ingredients. Because the holidays are near I went ahead and grabbed a party size bag of Peanut M&M's to enjoy. That will leave me plenty for late night gift wrap sessions after I make this recipe.

This cream pie has a baked cookie crust. I love them because they taste so good and are so quick to make. I decided to make this one more fun by adding in 1/3 of a cup of Peanut M&M's. Don't you love the color of the crust?

Just pulse them up with the cookies, add a little butter and then press into a pie plate before baking.

I love the bright colors that show up in the cookie crust. The little bits of chocolate and peanuts only added to the delicious taste and texture. A great contrast to the creamy peanut butter filling.

Then I made the filling. I creamed together creamy peanut butter and cream cheese. Then I mixed in the powdered sugar and last, I whipped in a container of whipped topping. It is that easy!

This pie needs to chill for at least an hour before serving. That will help it set up. Then I sprinkled the top of my pie with some crushed Peanut M&M's for color.

This was the step my kids loved! I place a handful of M&M's in a zip top bag and give them a meat mallet to smash them on the floor. They take their job very seriously.

Okay, not a recipe my Mom made, but one I think she would enjoy. I am just trying to keep the cream pie tradition going strong in our family. At least this pie will keep my husband happy.

Maybe happy enough to build me a fire in the fireplace tonight.

Peanut M&M's Peanut Butter Pie

You Will Need:

• 25 chocolate sandwich cookies
• 1/3 c. Peanut M&M's
• 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 c. creamy peanut butter
• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/3 c. powdered sugar
• 8 oz. whipped topping, thawed
• 1/4 c. Peanut M&M's, crushed for topping

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To make the crust, pulse up the sandwich cookies in a food processor. Then add the Peanut M&M's and pulse up just so they are not whole. Mix in the melted butter and press into a pie plate. Bake for 5 minutes, until the crust has set. Let the crust cool and work on the filling.

For the filling, in a stand mixer cream together the peanut butter and cream cheese. Then mix in the powdered sugar and whip in the whipped topping. The mixture should be smooth and fluffy. Spoon into the cooled crust and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Before serving top with crushed Peanut M&M's.

Enjoy with a big glass of milk.

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Contest runs 12/06/13 – 12/31/13