Peanut Butter Pie with Pretzel Crust

It's time again for  Secret Recipe Club (Secret Recipe Club) reveal!  My secret blog assignment this month was Micha's blog Cookin' Mimi.  Micha has loved cooking since she was a teenager and focuses on creating and sharing easy recipes that not only taste good but are pleasing to the family budget.  My philosophy exactly!  I think we're going to get along splendidly.  Her blog has so many recipes to choose from.  Here are just a few I thought looked amazing:

• Smothered Beef Burritos
• Roasted Cabbage
• Buffalo Chicken Salad
• Southwestern Beef & Black Bean Bake
• Cinnamon Pecan Biscuit Twists

It was the pretzel crust that sold me on this one.  That, and one of my fathers-in-law (Fred) loves peanut butter pie, so I'm always looking for that perfect recipe.  This might be the one!

Peanut Butter Pie with Pretzel Crust
from Cookin' Mimi

Ingredients
For the crust:

• 1-1/2 cups pretzel crumbs (about 80 mini twist pretzels)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

For the pie:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup unbleached flour
•  1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 3 eggs yolks, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup peanut butter

Instructions
For the crust:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F
2. In medium saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter, then stir in pretzel crumbs and sugar.  Press into 9" pie plate
3. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until browned around the edges. Let cool completely on a wire rack before use.

For the pie:

1. Melt 1/2 cup butter in the saucepan; mix in sugar, flour, and salt, then add milk.  Cook over medium heat, stirring, until bubbles start to form around edges.
2. Beat egg yolks in a small bowl.  Slowly add 1/2 cup or so of the hot milk mixture to egg yolks, stirring the whole time.  Add egg yolk mixture to saucepan and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens.
3. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and peanut butter.
4. Pour into pie crust. Let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate until well chilled.
5. Serve with whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.

I tried using a zipper bag and rolling pin to make my pretzels into crumbs, but I ended up with salt and crumbs everywhere!  So I used my Ninja Master Prep, and that worked perfectly. (affiliate link)

So many peanut butter pie recipes don't really call for much peanut butter, but this one has a whole cup, and it is full of peanut butter flavor.  It's a really rich and creamy pie, so a small piece is all you really need.  At least it's all I need.  My guys would be happy with bigger pieces, but smaller pieces mean the pie lasts longer, right? 

A dollop of whipped cream - ours came from a can - and a drizzle of chocolate syrup, because peanut butter needs some chocolate, and this pie is amazing.  I also took some of the crumbs left in the pie plate and sprinkled them on top, because they just looked pretty.

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