Peanut Butter Pie

Happy Father's Day to my dad, my father-in-law and my husband.  They are all great fathers and tremendous examples of love, commitment and godly leadership to their families.  I love you all!

My favorite gifts to give to each of them for Father's Day comes from my kitchen - homemade treats for each of them.  One of my dad's favorite is Strawberry Pie, which this is the perfect time of year to indulge in the abundance of sweet strawberries readily available.  My father in law loves my chocolate turtles, so it is a treat when he gets them on Father's Day.  He hides them from the rest of the family and ever so slowly savors them a little at a time to make them last.  He usually drops me some hints when he begins to run a little low!!  For Thomas, I usually like to experiment with a new recipe.  He likes just about everything that I make and doesn't really have a particular favorite when it comes to sweets.

A few weeks ago, I was sitting in the dentist office flipping through a Southern Living magazine and I saw this recipe for Peanut Butter-Banana Icebox Pie.  It looked delicious and in this summer heat, I tend to look for recipes that are light and cool and don't require much baking.  This was perfect.  Instead of ripping out the recipe in the magazine (that would be rude, then no one else could see and try this amazing pie!), I came home and looked it up online.  I found the recipe on the Southern Living website.  Here is the recipe link for Peanut Butter-Banana Icebox Pie that you must try.

This pie was just the right amount of peanut butter, with a slight hint of cinnamon in the crust and the perfect consistency.  Drizzle with a little chocolate syrup and a top with a dollop of whipped cream and you are in heaven!  I made a few changes to the original recipe to lighten it calorie wise, but it still was pretty high in calories.  Since tasting it, I have a few more changes to make that will help it out a little without affecting the taste, that I will try next time.

Sharla's recipe changes:

1. I used regular graham cracker crumbs and added 1 tsp of cinnamon
2. I did not use the chopped honey roasted peanuts (which saved a few calories)
3. I used light butter (saving 400 calories) - light butter is usually not a good option in baked goods but it worked great in this recipe.
4. I used milk chocolate chips in place of semisweet chocolate. 
5. I used light cream cheese (saving 240 calories)
6. I left out the bananas, because I didn't want them turning brown and getting mushy before we were able to finish eating the pie.

Slicing this pie into 10 slices, each slice weighed in at 585 calories, plus the whipped topping and chocolate syrup.  Definitely a once in a while treat!  But is was a great treat for Father's Day and Thomas loved it!

A few changes that I will make next time are:

1. Make the crust a little thinner.
2. Leave out the chocolate layer on bottom - I liked the peanut butter filling on it's own
3. Use less whipping cream.  Half and half can be used for some of the cream.