
Here at Delish, we love a dessert mashup. Who can say no to a brookie or a pumpkin crème brûlée bar? Some sweet things are just made to be together. Next up for us? This peanut butter-chocolate dream of a dessert takes two famous desserts—Reese’s peanut butter cups and the South’s chess pie—and makes something uniquely delicious.
One of the top-selling Halloween candies in the U.S., peanut butter cups need no introduction. Creamy peanut butter sandwiched between layers of milk chocolate—you either love it or you don’t. If you’re new to chess pie, welcome! This classic custard pie has simple ingredients baked in a flaky pie crust. Chess pie can be flavored with vanilla or orange zest, but as a quick Google search will show, chess pies can be flavored with chocolate, cranberries, and so much more. Here’s how we combine these two desserts.
The crust:
For this pie, we swap out the flaky pie crust a chess pie often has for a cocoa-flavored shortbread crust. We love the extra chocolate flavor, and a chocolate crust baked in a tart pan gives the whole dessert solid peanut butter cup vibes.
The filling:
We keep the classic chess pie filling ingredients: whole eggs, melted butter, granulated sugar, vanilla, fine cornmeal (to thicken the custard), and apple cider vinegar (to balance the sweetness). I added peanut butter, which also thickens the custard. Using some dark brown sugar in place of granulated sugar gives the filling a PB cookie-like taste.
Storage:
This cake is great to make ahead. The crust could be baked up to 48 hours in advance, kept wrapped at room temperature. The whole pie could be made 24 hours, wrapped and stored in the fridge, before serving.
Did you make this recipe? Let us know in the comments!
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup
(120 g.) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup
(30 g.) plus 2 Tbsp. confectioners' sugar
- 1/4 cup
(22 g.) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp.
kosher salt
- 1/2 cup
(1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled
Filling
- 2
large eggs
- 1/2 cup
(100 g.) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup
creamy peanut butter (preferably Skippy)
- 1/3 cup
(72 g.) lightly packed dark brown sugar
- 4 Tbsp.
unsalted butter, melted, cooled
- 2 Tbsp.
whole milk
- 1 Tbsp.
finely ground cornmeal
- 1 tsp.
apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp.
pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp.
kosher salt
Ganache
- 6 oz.
bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup
heavy cream
Directions
Crust
- Step 1Place a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom on a baking sheet. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Add butter and mix until combined. Press dough into bottom and all the way up sides of prepared pan. Dock bottom of dough with a fork. Freeze until just firm, about 10 minutes.
- Step 2Preheat oven to 350°. Bake crust until firm to the touch but still shiny, about 12 minutes. Let cool.
- Step 3Make Ahead: Crust can be made 2 days ahead. Tightly wrap pan in plastic wrap and store at room temperature.
Filling
- Step 1Place a rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°. In a large bowl, whisk eggs until combined. Add granulated sugar, peanut butter, brown sugar, butter, milk, cornmeal, vinegar, vanilla, and salt and whisk to combine.
- Step 2Pour filling into crust and carefully transfer to oven. Bake pie until filling is set, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
Ganache
- Step 1Place chopped chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan over low heat, bring cream to a simmer. Pour cream over chocolate and let sit 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth.
- Step 2Pour ganache over top of cool pie. Refrigerate until ganache is set and firm, about 1 hour. Remove sides of tart pan, then cut into slices.
- Step 3Make Ahead: Pie can be made 1 day ahead. Tightly wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

15 Editor-Approved No-Bake Desserts

39 Best Summer Pie Recipes

5 Ways To Upgrade Your Boxed Brownies

Jell-O Cake