Frozen Peanut Butter Pie w/ Coconut Cream

  

Ingredients: organic unsalted peanut butter, organic silken tofu, chocolate wafer cookies, unsalted butter, coconut milk (canned), powdered sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, milk chocolate shavings

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My best friend has a newborn at home and in my attempt to provide a sweet escape for the new mom, I also wanted to give something baby-friendly. I knew that dairy-free foods helped with preventing colic for nursing babies, so I was up for the challenge of making a sweet dessert for a happy mom and a gas-free baby. 

The peanut butter + chocolate combo is a favorite in her household, which provided further inspiration for the pie. I was on the hunt for vegan peanut butter pie recipes when I stumbled upon a very non-vegan Oreo pie crust which I knew would make a perfect combo. I removed the fillings from the Oreos and tossed the cookies in the food processor and made about 1 1/2 cups of chocolaty crumbs. The melted butter was added and the mixture was fluffed with a fork and pressed in a well-grease pie mold. Freeze to set for about 30 mins.

The frozen pie filling was genius: silken tofu was combined with a jar of peanut butter and combined in a blender. Most other peanut butter pies called for at least two packages of cream cheese, meant for consistency and flavor. But the use of tofu yielded a lighter, smoother consistency of the filling and you honestly couldn't taste the tofu whatsoever as the peanut butter overwhelmed the flavor completely.

The cream topping was a first for me as well; I've never made whipped cream without using cream. Using a hand blender and (very) cold canned coconut milk, it puffed up in no time and worked perfectly. It was very necessary to add powdered sugar, to taste; some of the other recipes called for some vanilla extract or other flavors, but the coconut is quite strong, so adding anything else might have clashed. I was worried the peanut butter wouldn't work with the coconut whipped cream, but it actually surprised me and went well together.

One thing to note, however, is that the pie tasted better once the whipped topping froze completely, along with the rest of the pie. On a hot day, you should allow the whole pie to set in the freezer for at least 3-4 hours. Top with shaved dark chocolate and serve!