Sweet And Salty Peanut Butter Pumpkin Spice Pie Recipe

Pumpkin pie may be traditional for Thanksgiving, but the fact is, not everyone's a fan of squash-based desserts. In one Mashed survey, 21% of respondents actually named pumpkin pie as their most-hated Thanksgiving dish. As an alternative, developer Tess Le Moing created this recipe for something she says is "a peanut butter pie posing as a pumpkin pie." While creamy peanut butter takes the place of canned pumpkin, the dominant flavor isn't that of the peanuts. Instead, as Le Moing explains, "The pumpkin pie spice and maple syrup really take center stage here because the goal of this recipe is to get in the fall spirit."

In addition to peanut butter, the pie filling also includes cream cheese and heavy cream to add some richness and provide a smooth texture.  If you want to make a vegan version, though, you can swap these ingredients out for plant-based alternatives. You could also use a different type of nut butter or swap the peanut butter for seed butter to make a more allergy-friendly pie. Just like pumpkin pie, you can make this peanut butter pie a few days ahead of your holiday feast or even freeze it for longer-term storage — and who knows, maybe your family will be grateful for the switch-up from plain old pumpkin pie.

The pie filling is made from cream cheese, peanut butter, powdered sugar, and heavy cream and flavored with maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla. For the crust, you'll need pretzel sticks, brown sugar, and butter.

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 325 F.

Grease a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray.

Add pretzel sticks and brown sugar to a large, sealable plastic bag. Use a rolling pin to crush into coarse crumbs.

Place the pretzel/brown sugar crumbs to a medium mixing bowl.

Add the melted butter over the pretzels and stir until combined.

Transfer the crumbs to the greased pie plate.

Using the bottom of a measuring cup, press the crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of the plate. Freeze for 30 minutes.

Once the 30 minutes is up, bake the crust until fragrant and beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool completely.

Meanwhile, add the cream cheese, peanut butter, powdered sugar, maple syrup, and pumpkin pie spice in a mixing bowl.

With a rubber spatula or hand mixer, combine until smooth.

Add the heavy cream and vanilla extract and stir or whip until fluffy.

Spoon filling into the pretzel crust and spread into an even layer.

Place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or freezer for 45 minutes, until filling is firm.

Cut into slices and serve with whipped cream, if desired.

This pie is made with a pretzel crust since the salty crunch helps to balance out the rich, sweet pie filling. (Small, skinny pretzel sticks are best since they are the easiest to crush and make the smallest crumbs, though regular pretzels would also work.) You could make graham cracker crust if you prefer, though, or even pick up a store-bought one to save yourself some time. A graham cracker crust would eliminate much of the salty element of the pie, but it'd still be delicious nonetheless.

Saltines or Ritz crackers could also be used in place of pretzels, while another option would be to make a cookie crumb crust. Chocolate cookies would add a complementary flavor (chocolate plus peanut butter = bffs), while gingersnaps would work well with the pumpkin pie spice. You could also opt for a nut crust made with salted peanuts so you get the saltiness that the pretzels would provide while enhancing the pie's peanut butter flavor. A coconut crust would also be tasty with this pie, or you could mix either crushed nuts or coconut flakes into the pretzel mixture to make a hybrid crumb crust.

While this pie doesn't really need a topping, if you want to go for that whole pumpkin pie vibe you'll probably want some whipped cream. That can come from a can (or a tub, if you prefer Cool Whip), or you can beat it yourself in a stand mixer. If you want your creamy slightly runny instead of so thick enough to stand up on its own, you can just pour it into a jar and shake until it thickens (that's how Le Moing got the consistency shown in these photos). If you're making a plant-based peanut pie, you can either use canned coconut milk or aquafaba to make vegan whipped cream.

Instead of (or in addition to) whipped cream, you could also sprinkle the pie with additional crushed pretzels, peanuts, or shaved chocolate. A dusting of pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, or sea salt would also complement the flavor, while a drizzle of caramel or chocolate sauce would make for an extra-sweet pie.