Peanut Butter Lover’s Pie

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray or butter a 9-inch pie pan. Crush the graham crackers in a plastic bag by pressing on them with a rolling pin until they are fine crumbs. Put them in a bowl and add the flour; mix well. In a small pan, melt the butter, then stir in the brown sugar and peanut butter. Stir until well-mixed, then combine with the crumb mixture in the bowl until evenly mixed. Scrape into the prepared pie pan and press evenly into the pan to make a crust. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Cool on a rack, then refrigerate to chill.
2. To make the ganache, finely chop the chocolate by hand or in the food processor. Put the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a bubble then take off the heat and add the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted. Let cool to room temperature. Pour into the pie crust and smooth it over the bottom. Chill the pie again.
3. To make the filling, put the cream cheese in a large bowl. Using a hand-held electric or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until it is fluffy, scraping down to make sure it has no lumps. Add the peanut butter, powdered sugar and vanilla and beat, scraping down and mixing to make a smooth mixture. Add the milk and beat just to mix well. In a separate large bowl, whip the cream to firm peaks - when you take the beaters out the cream holds its shape and does not flop over. Gently scoop out 1/2 cup of the whipped cream, being careful not to deflate it. Fold the half cup of cream into the peanut butter mixture in two parts. Spread the peanut butter mixture over the chilled ganache and chill the pie.
4. Spread 2 cups of the whipped cream evenly over the pie, then reserve the remaining whipped cream to pipe onto each slice of pie. Chill the pie.
5. To serve, make the garnishes. In a small bowl, use a fork to mash the powdered sugar and peanut butter together, then mash in the sour cream to make a paste. Transfer the mixture to a small sandwich baggie, dropping it into one corner. Cut the tip from the corner of the bag. Slice the pie into 8 pieces, then pipe a dollop of reserved whipped cream close to the crust, and place an unwrapped peanut butter cup on each slice. Use the plastic bag of peanut butter mixture to pipe swirling decorations on the top of the entire pie, then drizzle with chocolate sauce.