Peanut Butter Graham Cracker Pie Crust

Peanut butter goes on pretty much anything if you ask enthusiasts of this creamy concoction. Smeared on toast, added to cookies and batters, combined with chocolate, or simply eaten by the spoonful, peanut butter is a rich and nutritious food that can beautifully complement many sweet dishes. Its high-fat content and irresistible flavor make it a great addition to decadent recipes. Our graham cracker crust with peanut butter is a simple and delicious preparation, and the perfect base for multiple fillings, from plain vanilla instant pudding to more elaborate dark chocolate ganache and fillings. Our recipe takes 10 quick minutes of preparation and at least 2 hours to chill before adding the filling, so plan ahead. Fill the crust with custard, chocolate, various flavors of pudding, no-bake cheesecake filling, the ice cream of your choice topped with fresh fruit or crunchy toppings, or any other mixture that you might find suits the peanut profile.

Our no-bake pie makes it perfect for newbies in the kitchen. Easily mixed by hand, the crust can be made in a food processor in no time. Flatten it on your tin, place it in the fridge, and resist the temptation of eating it on its own, as the sugary and fatty dough is delicious by itself. We recommend using peanut butter that contains peanuts only. Although you might think that's a given, most commercially available peanut butter is filled with added sugar, palm oil, and salt. True peanut butter should have just one ingredient, peanuts. It is up to you to decide if you want to use smooth peanut butter or crunchy peanut butter, but in either case, it should just be made out of peanuts. As graham crackers are usually vegan, unless the label states that dairy products were used in the production, the crust can be made vegan friendly by using vegan margarine instead of butter. As such, vegan fillings can be used, such as a sweet tofu cheesecake filling.

Peanuts are a nutritious legume, not a nut, and should be an important part of your weekly diet. Filled with protein, low carbohydrate content, and a lot of healthy fats, vitamin E, and B3, peanuts in moderation add a lot to a healthy menu. A quarter of a cup of smooth unsalted peanut butter, like you might use for this crust, has 14.3 grams of protein, almost 6 milligrams of vitamin E—close to 40 percent of the recommended daily intake—and just 6.7 grams of naturally occurring sugars (that actually do not count toward the recommended adult daily consumption of added sugar of 38 grams of sugar per day).