Peanut Butter Praline Pie With Ganache Topping Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Make crust first.
• In a small bowl, combine crumbs and melted butter and then pat into a 9" pie plate.
• Bake until firm and solid; 8 minutes.
• Let cool.
• Now make filling.
• In medium-sized bowl, whip cream.
• Place in fridge until you need it.
• Now, in a large bowl, beat softened cream cheese until fluffy.
• Next, beat in peanut butter, then butter and vanilla.
• Beat in icing sugar until nice and fluffy.
• Retrieve whipping cream from fridge.
• Fold about one-quarter of the cream into mixture to lighten it up, then fold in remainder of cream.
• Use a light hand-- but you don't want any streaks of cream to show either.
• Fill baked crust with peanut butter mixture.
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until it firms up, about 3 hours.
• To make chocolate ganache topping, finely chop chocolate bar (you can substitute 6 squares of semisweet bakers chocolate) and place in a small bowl.
• In a small pot, heat cream just until bubbles form.
• Pour over chocolate and stir until chocolate melts.
• Let cool, then spread over pie.
• Take the 12 miniature-peanut-butter-cup halves and arrange them evenly around the edge of the pie.
• I tilt them so the inside shows.
• Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving; I always make this a day ahead.

Steps:

• CRUST
• Combine cookie crumbs and melted butter and mix thoroughly. Press onto bottom and up sides of a 10x10x2 Corning Ware baking dish.
• PRALINE LAYER
• Melt butter in small saucepan and stir in brown sugar and sugar. Thoroughly combine the cornstarch with water and stir into brown sugar mixture. Stir constantly over medium heat until bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in pecans. Drizzle onto cookie crust and refrigerate (do NOT cover).
• FILLING
• Prepare pudding as directed on package. Stir constantly over medium heat until mixture boils. Immediately stir in peanut butter chips directly from bag and peanut butter until melted and well blended. Pour into a bowl and place plastic wrap directly onto surface of filling and refrigerate until cooled. Stir to soften. Fold in Cool Whip. Carefully spread over praline layer in crust.
• CHOCOLATE GANACHE
• Finely chop chocolate and place in a small bowl with the whipping cream. Microwave and stir on 30 second intervals until chocolate is completely melted. Let cool, then spread over filling.
• GARNISH
• Arrange the 24 miniature peanut butter cup halves evenly around the edge of the pie, placing them so the pretty ridges show.
• Cover and refrigerate overnight.