Chocolate-Strawberry Peanut Butter Pie

You know those little recipe books you stare at as you are waiting to check out of the grocery store? I love those. I have actually put The Girl in charge of making me put them back so I don't end up buying a new one. But I came across a big box of them at a recent garage sale (I love those, too) and couldn't resist buying a cookbook for a quarter.

One of my treasures included a 2004 Better Homes and Gardens entitled "Chill Out" that had an incredible looking pie on the front. Now, I cannot recall every having made a frozen dessert, but that has, as of today, become my new obsession. Why in the world have I never done this????

When I saw the recipe, I actually thought the peanut butter was a misprint. Seriously? Strawberries and peanut butter? Never heard of it. Never crossed my mind. No way.

But, The Girl wanted to. So we did. Now you must. This is incredible. This is delicious. This is going to be gone by tomorrow.

This takes a little doing; it took me about 30 minutes to put it together. Of course that was with help, so it might not take you as long.

Mix a package of cream cheese with 1 cup of powdered sugar until it is well blended. Divide this in half into two medium sized bowls.

Because you didn't read ahead, wait for The Girl to lick the beaters clean (then wash them) and add half a cup of chunky peanut butter to one bowl and mix again.
Since The Boy wants to "help" give him a strawberry on a stick to keep him distracted.
Fold in half the whipped topping. Be patient here. Folding is just a way of stirring in fluffy ingredients so that they stay fluffy. If you don't want fluff, feel free to stir. But you want fluff.
In the other bowl, add about 2 cups of chopped strawberries. When you chop these, be sure they are fairly small pieces. This is a frozen dessert, so large chunks of strawberries are not friendly to those with sensitive teeth.

Hmmmm...maybe that's why I shy away from frozen desserts....

Mix that in good and add the rest of the whipped topping. Again, FOLD it in to mix well.
Alternately spoon in each mixture into a graham cracker crust.

I used a big ice cream scoop. I think next time, I will use my smaller scoop. I think that might blend it a little better.

Use a butter knife to swirl the mixture and make it marble.

Freeze this for about 6 hours to really set it up. I ended up freezing it for about 4 in my chest freezer and it was perfect.

To serve, drizzle with chocolate syrup or ice cream topping. To be honest, I don't really think it needs it (and that's saying something coming from me). While I adore chocolate, I don't like a lot of flavors competing for my attention. It was wonderful both ways.

Seriously, don't be afraid of the weird combination here. You must try this.

Click here for Printable Recipe

Strawberry Peanut Butter Pie

1 Graham Cracker Crust
1 (8 oz) pkg. Cream Cheese, softened
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
1/2 Cup Chunky Peanut Butter
1 (8 oz.) Container Frozen Whipped Topping, thawed
2 Cup Chopped Strawberries
Chocolate Ice Cream Topping (optional)

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Divide cream cheese mixture between two medium bowls. Add peanut butter to one bowl. Beat with mixer on medium speed until smooth; fold in half of the whipped topping.
Add strawberries to the other bowl and gently stir. Fold in remaining whipped topping. Alternately spoon dollops of peanut butter mixture and strawberry mixture into prepared crust. Use a butter knife or narrow spatula to slightly swirl mixtures to marble.
Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 6 hours 0r overnight. Let frozen pie stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.) To serve, drizzle with chocolate syrup.