Big Spoon Roasters Peanut Cocoa Banana Cream Pie

Happy holidays! I've been to the Midwest for a week and back again, but the season's festivities are not over yet. Tomorrow a crew of friends and I are headed to a West Virginia cabin to x-country ski, hot tub, play music, make delicious food, and hold our annual micropong winter classic tournament! I'm packing my sweaters and tarot cards and fiddle and ski boots and praying for snow.

One celebration that's become a marker of winter for me is the annual party at my friend Bradley's house, "The Urban Homestead," in Brentwood, Maryland. There's always great food, a well-stocked bar, an outdoor bonfire, music jams, and a living room square dance. This year, Bradley and her housemate Pete bought the house (or the homestead) they'd been renting for years, so there was an additional reason to celebrate. I'd been battling a nasty cold, but pulled it together to make it to the party and bring along this Peanut Cocoa Banana Cream Pie to add to the dessert table.



You may recall the Pumpkin & Chai Spice Nut Butter Pie I made last month, using nut butter from Durham, North Carolina's Big Spoon Roasters. This recipe uses their Peanut Cocoa Butter as a base for the filling, and is topped with fresh bananas in a graham cracker crust. It's essentially the same recipe as this Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie, but with an exceptional chocolate, honey, coconut oil, and sea salt infused peanut butter. If you really wanted to take it up another level, you could add this chocolate ganache, but I think it's already plenty rich. For further variations, try substituting a peanut, Oreo, or pretzel crust.

This Elvis pie spin-off was a fast mover at the Christmas party-- only a few graham cracker crumbs remained when I went to collect the pie dish at the end of the night. For more information on where to find Big Spoon Roasters fantastic handcrafted nut butters (all of which would be good in a pie), visit their website, where you can also place an order to have a jar or two delivered to your door.

Big Spoon Roasters Peanut Cocoa Banana Cream Pie

Adapted From Nancie McDermott's Southern Pies

Ingredients

For crust:

1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs

5 Tblsp. unsalted butter

1 Tblsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

For filling:

12 oz. cream cheese, softened

3/4 c. confectioner's sugar

3/4 c. Big Spoon Roaster's Peanut Cocoa Butter

2 Tblsp. whole milk

2 c. heavy whipping cream

3 bananas, sliced into 1/4-1/2 in. slices

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pour graham cracker crumbs in a bowl and add melted butter, sugar, and salt until well mixed.

2. Pat the buttery crumbs into a 9-inch pie pan, pressing mixture into the bottom and sides to form a pie crust. Place in oven and bake until crust is lightly browned, about 10-12 minutes. Place on a cooling rack and let cool to room temperature before adding the filling.

For filling:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, confectioner's sugar, and peanut butter, beating until fluffy. Add the milk and the peanuts and mix well until incorporated.

2. In another bowl, using an electric mixer if desired, beat whipping cream until it becomes thick and holds medium-stiff peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture until well combined.

3. Add a layer of sliced bananas (about 1 1/2 bananas) to the bottom of the pie crust and pour the filling on top. Add the remaining bananas on top of the filling, around the edge of the pie. Cover pie and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Related recipes:

Banana Cream Pie with Peanut Crust and Salty Bourbon Caramel

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Pretzel Tart

Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie with Chocolate Ganache

Pumpkin and Big Spoon Roasters' Chai Spice Nut Butter Pie

Pumpkin & Chai Spice Nut Butter Pie

Durham's Big Spoon Roasters did not yet exist when I lived on the Carolina Piedmont. Since I moved away, though, I've heard murmurs about the handcrafted nut butters from various food sites and magazines and friends who can't get enough of the stuff and I wondered how I too could get my hands on a few jars. As I was browsing the Big Spoon website, deciding which of the flavors--from Chai Spice to Peanut Cocoa I most wanted, I realized that the nut butters--those two in particular would make perfect pie ingredients.



So I emailed the owner Mark to tell him my idea, and the next week, a box showed up on my door with those two flavors packaged inside. Though the Chai Spice--a peanut and almond butter with local wildflower honey, salt, and chai spices-- could make a delicious pie filling almost all by itself (or in a Chocolate & Peanut Butter Pretzel Tart or a Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie or... the possibilities are endless--stay tuned!), I decided to start with the seasonal and perhaps unsuspected pairing of pumpkin. Chai spice and pumpkin pie spice are kissin' cousins as is, and I thought the smooth pumpkin and slightly grainy nut butter would compliment each other's textures and flavor well. I had also done a similar butter 'n' orange-veggie in this Sweet Potato Speculoos Pie, adapted from a Pumpkin-Nutella version from Sally's Baking Addiction.

The duo got along just splendidly, the nut butter adding a hint of honey and a darker, richer flavor to the fairly standard pumpkin pie base. The consistency was thick and hearty, a substantial slice that would also work well substituting sweet potatoes for the pumpkin purée. Though I added bourbon to my whipped cream, in my humble opinion it never hurts to throw in a dash in the pie itself. This recipe is definitely in the running for what will be on my dessert table this coming Thanksgiving, though I've yet to bake with that Peanut Cocoa butter...

You can check out where you can buy Big Spoon Roasters nut butters near you here, and if there's nowhere close, you can also order online.

 Pumpkin & Chai Spice Nut Butter Pie

Ingredients
Nothing-in-the-House Pie Crust, halved
2 c. (15 oz.) pumpkin purée, canned or fresh (sweet potato purée would also be delicious)
3 large eggs, lightly whisked
1/2 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. cardamom
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 c. Big Spoon Roasters' Chai Spice Nut Butter

Directions
1. Prepare half of the Nothing-in-the-House pie crust as per the directions, reserving the leftover egg for an egg wash. Chill dough at least 1 hour before rolling out and fitting into a greased and floured 9-inch pie pan. Let chill for 15 more minutes in the fridge. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add pumpkin purée, whisked eggs, heavy cream, brown sugar, spices, and salt and mix well to combine. Add the Chai Spice nut butter and stir just until incorporated.

3. Pour filling into the chilled pie crust and distribute evenly using a rubber spatula. Bake 40-45 minutes until filling is well-set. Let cool and once at room temperature, chill pie until you're ready to serve. Serve chilled or at room temperature with a dollop of bourbon whipped cream.

Related Recipes:
Drunken Pumpkin Bourbon Pie with Mascarpone Cream
Pumpkin Ginger Cheesecake Pie
Sweet Potato Speculoos Pie