Peanut butter lovers, get ready! This Peanut Butter Honey Cinnamon Pie is decadent layer upon layer featuring a cinnamon spiced graham cracker pie crust, a white chocolate peanut feuilletine crunch layer, peanut butter filling piled in, honey whipped cream, and more cinnamon honey peanut goodness sprinkled on top.
Just a quick note because I know this can be a make or break for some when searching for their ideal peanut butter pie recipe, this recipe does NOT contain Cool Whip, and instead uses homemade whipped cream.
Some of you may be visiting this Peanut Butter Honey Cinnamon Pie recipe after seeing this pie win me the main heat challenge on Season 11 Episode 2 of Food Network’s Holiday Baking Championship!! Competing on the show has been such an incredible experience and I couldn’t believe it when my pie was chosen as the winner.
Part of the challenge was to create a 3-D element on the pie so I made a giant gingerbread pumpkin with a modeling chocolate stem to adorn the top! That’s a tutorial for another day.
This Peanut Butter Honey Cinnamon Pie earned the coveted Nancy Fuller conductor gesture, sweet words from Carla about the pumpkin design, and a super kind comment from Duff Goldman saying he would serve it with pride for Thanksgiving. PINCH ME!!
So let’s get into how to make it! You probably (HOPEFULLY) won’t be on the same time crunch we had on the show (2.5 hours) which is great because it’s also highly likely most of you won’t have a blast chiller and commercial equipment to speed up the process.
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What if I told you that a homemade graham cracker crust takes less time to make from scratch than it does to run to the store and buy one? This graham cracker crust comes together SUPER quick and has a lovely addition of cinnamon to bring in a bit of spice and fall flavor for the season.
For this recipe, you need to pulverize the graham crackers until they have become a fine crumb. The fastest way to do this is a food processor, but if you don’t have one, you can place the graham crackers into a ziplock bag and smash away with a rolling pin or kitchen utensil of your choosing!
The main thing is to make sure there are no large clumps, because that can inhibit how well the crust comes together.
Transfer the graham cracker crumbs into a medium sized bowl, and stir in the granulated sugar and cinnamon using a fork until well combined. Easy peasy.
Make sure the butter is fully melted, and pour it into the crumb mixture. Use a fork to stir everything together until evenly incorporated. The mixture should be crumbly, but hold together in a clump if you grab a handful and squeeze it.
Pour the graham cracker mixture into a standard depth 9″ pie dish, and begin spreading it evenly around.
To assist in getting even edges and a flat bottom part of the crust, use the bottom and sides of a glass or a measuring cup to aid in smoothing it out and pressing it together.
You want to press the crumbs together so they hold, but not apply too much pressure. Too much pressure can cause a hard and dense crust.
Bake the crust at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-13 minutes. The crust should smell fragrant, and should feel dryer to the touch. Once baked, allow to fully cool before filling.
Bonus Tip: You can make the crust in advance! Graham cracker crusts freeze super well for a few months, and stays fresh in the fridge for a few days.
If this component sounds a bit intimidating, I want to encourage you that it’s really not that complicated if you take it one step at a time! The texture is crisp and flaky from the feuilletine crunch, creamy from the white chocolate, and deliciously nutty from the peanut praline.
Important Note: You must have a small food processor or small blender for this crunch layer component to make the peanut praline paste. I’ve tried it using a larger food processor and it just won’t work for the small batch size.
If you’d like to skip this step and just do the crust, peanut butter filling, whipped cream and toppings, that’s totally ok too. YOU DO YOU BOO BOO and make this peanut butter pie in a way that works for you!
If you decide to opt out of the crunch layer, your pie will still look full once you’ve piled on the whipped cream and shouldn’t look empty. The feuilletine layer only accounts for about 1/4-1/2 inch of the pies total height.
When making a praline, I recommend setting out all ingredients and supplies at the beginning, because once you get a few steps into the process, things move quickly and you don’t want to be caught unprepared.
Set out a tray with a silicone mat, measure out the peanuts, and measure the sugar into a small sauce pot.
In a small sauce pot over medium low heat, begin cooking the sugar and stirring with a wooden spatula. At the beginning, the sugar will look dry, but keep stirring and keep a close eye on it.
The sugar will begin forming clumps. Break the clumps up as you go with the wooden spatula as the sugar continues to melt.
Continue cooking the sugar until it reaches a deep amber shade and is fully melted. Immediately stir in the peanuts to coat them, and then transfer the mixture to the silicone mat and spread it out.
Allow the peanut sugar mixture to cool completely.
Using a small food processor or mini blender, pulverize the peanut sugar mixture until a smooth paste forms. This can take several minutes and scraping down as you go, so be patient. The longer you let it blend, the smoother your paste will be.
Place chocolate in a medium sized heat safe bowl, and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir, and microwave again for 20 seconds, and stir again. You want to make sure to melt down chocolate slowly so it doesn’t burn!
Continue microwaving in 10 second increments, stirring after each, until the chocolate is fully melted.
Add the praline paste to the white chocolate and fold to combine until fully incorporated.
Add in the feuilletine flakes, and gently fold together until combined. Try not to overmix because the more you work the mixture, the more the flakes will break into smaller pieces. Set aside to cool at room temperature.
Spread the peanut feuilletine crunch layer in an even layer on the bottom of the pie.
If you’re asking yourself, what are feuilletine flakes, they are essentially very thin crispy crepe like shards! Amazon sells them, but I’m going to be honest with you they’re a bit pricey. I opted to diy it and used a recipe for feuilletine from Jonathan Cedrone, a fellow baker on Holiday Baking championship!
If you’d like to make your own to save a bit when you only need a small amount, there are many recipes online. Feuilletine is comprised of egg whites, flour, butter, and powdered sugar, and is super easy to make!
I’ve also heard of people using cornflakes or rice krispy cereal to substitute for feuilletine flakes if you’re looking for an easier to find option! I haven’t tested it with this recipe so I can’t promise it’ll be the same, but it might be worth a shot if you’re set on skipping the feuilletine.
Here we are, the main event, the peanut butter filling! This filling is super easy to whip up and has very little hands on time, but there is chill time involved. On Holiday Baking Championship we had a blast freezer which certainly sped up the process.
Using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment and a medium/large bowl, beat together the peanut butter, cream cheese, 1 cup (110 grams) of the powdered sugar, and the vanilla until smooth.
In a separate bowl using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream until the whisk is starting to leave tracks, and then add the powdered sugar. Whip together until stiff peaks form. Test the peaks by lifting the whisk attachment out of the cream, and seeing if the peaks hold their shape upright.
Fold half of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture until combined, and then fold in the remaining whipped cream until smooth and no whip cream streaks remain. Do not over mix.
Spread the peanut butter filling in an even layer in the pie, and smooth out the top.
Place in the fridge to chill for 4 hours in the fridge, or 1-2 hours in the freezer. (Or if you’re making this on a baking show, throw in in the blast chiller and pray for the best).
This whipped cream topping has some stabilization with the addition of the cream cheese and the powdered sugar which helps it last if you’re making it in advance.
I kept my leftover pie in the fridge for a few days after assembling and it still tastes great, but I’d recommend adding the whipped cream no more than several hours in advance for the best freshness and texture!
Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment and a medium bowl, whip the cream cheese until smooth. It’s important the cream cheese is at room temperature so it’s soft.
Add in a drizzle of heavy cream, and continue whipping. Continue adding small amounts of the heavy cream at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed until all of the heavy cream has been added.
Once the whipped cream has thickened a bit and the whisk is leaving subtle tracks in the bowl, add in the powered sugar. Continue whipping until the cream holds soft peaks, and then add in the vanilla.
Continue whisking until the cream holds stiff peaks, and then gently fold in the honey until just combined. If the peaks have softened after folding in the honey, whisk with the mixer again in short bursts until firm peaks have returned. Be careful not to over mix.
Fit a large piping bag with a 1M piping tip. Fill the piping bag with the whipped cream, and pipe dollops all over the top of the pie. (If you would rather spoon the whipped cream on instead, skip this step and just plop it on there however your heart tells you)
Drizzle honey over the top of the whipped cream, and sprinkle on cinnamon, and chopped peanuts.
And that’s it! Store in the fridge and serve the pie fully chilled. The peanut butter filling has the best consistency once it’s been chilled for a few hours!
Absolutely! If you are making the pie in advance, I recommend doing all of the steps except the honey whipped cream and toppings, and storing it in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
The assembled pie (minus whipped cream and toppings) will store beautifully in the freezer for 2 months, or in the fridge for 2-3 days. When you’re ready to serve it, whip up the honey whipped cream and add the garnishes within a few hours of when you plan to eat it!
You can also prepare the graham cracker crust in advance and store it in the freezer for 2-4 months, or in the fridge for a few days.
The assembled pie (minus whipped cream and toppings) will store beautifully in the freezer for up to 2 months, or in the fridge for 2-3 days. When you’re ready to serve it, whip up the honey whipped cream and add the garnishes within a few hours of when you plan to eat it!
For this recipe, I’ve tried a few different brands with success. In my opinion, creamy peanut butter with no added sugar is the best to use for consistent peanut butter pie results.
This recipe is best served chilled! At room temperature, the peanut butter filling will probably be too soft. If you want to serve it partially frozen, it’s also a delicious option!
Thanks for visiting and checking out this recipe for Peanut Butter Honey Cinnamon Pie! I hope you enjoy it and would love to hear what you think if you give it a try! Feel free to tag me on Instagram @the.white.whisk or leave a comment with your review.
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The minute my S/O saw this when we were watching the Baling Championship he asked if I could find the recipe and make it for Thanksgiving. I was so happy to find it and make it for him. I made it with corn flakes instead of feuilletine flakes and it worked out just fine. It was a definitely the hit of the dessert table! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I know now why the judges on the Baking Championship show had the reaction they did after just that first bite. It is out of this world delicious. A little laborious but so well worth it. I brought this for Thanksgiving and it was a huge hit. Thank you for publishing the recipe.
Scrumptious!
When we saw this on the HBC we really wanted to try to make it. Not being much of a baker I was intimidated by the recipe but I followed along all the steps written out in the blog and it turned out amazing! I never would have thought I could have made such a cool looking and awesome tasting pie but man I am so glad I tried it! Thanks for writing such detailed instructions so that even I could do it!
Made this to take to Thanksgiving and it was a huge hit. Everything about this is divine, I may never make whipped cream any other way ever again. I did use rice crisp cereal in place of the feuilletine and it worked great.
We made this for my boyfriend’s family Christmas get together. I use the word “we” lightly because he did almost all the baking and I just read the recipe to him. The pie was such a hit, for a family that loves to bake and cook everyone had a piece of this pie and everyone loved it. It was so decadent, rich, peanut-buttery and beautiful. We used salted peanuts and left out the feuilletine flakes and it was still amazing. So happy we were able to try it.