Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart
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Think of this chocolate peanut butter tart as a grown-up version of a Reese’s Peanut Butter cup.
Whenever I’m in need of a decadent “wow” dessert, I make this quick-bake chocolate peanut butter tart modestly adapted from Food & Wine. With a chocolate wafer crust, rich peanut butter filling, and silky chocolate ganache topping, it tastes like a grown-up Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. To get the pretty fluted edges, you’ll need a tart pan with a removable bottom, which you can find at any kitchen store or online (my local hardware store even sells them). If you don’t have one, you can also use a springform pan.
What you’ll need to make a chocolate peanut butter tart
How to make a chocolate peanut butter tart
Begin with the crust. Place the chocolate wafers in a food processor fitted with the steel blade.
Process until the cookies are finely ground and set aside.
In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Add the chocolate pieces.
Stir until melted. (If necessary, place the bowl back in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds.)
Add the cookie crumbs and stir until evenly combined.
Press the cookie crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the rim of a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then cool on a rack.
Meanwhile, make the peanut butter filling: In a large bowl of an electric mixer, combine the the cream cheese with the peanut butter, sugar and vanilla extract.
Beat on medium speed until well-blended, a few minutes.
In another large bowl, using an electric mixer, whip the cream until stiff peaks form.
Add one-third of the whipped cream to the peanut butter mixture.
Beat on low speed to combine.
Add the remaining cream.
Using a large rubber spatula, fold until evenly combined.
The filling should be nice and light.
Spoon the filling into the crust.
Smooth the surface and refrigerate, uncovered, for about 1 hour.
Once the pie has cooled, make the chocolate topping. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate with the heavy cream.
Microwave at high power in 20-second intervals until the chocolate is just melted and the cream is hot. Stir until well blended, then let cool until barely warm, stirring occasionally.
Spread the chocolate topping over the chilled peanut butter filling.
Sprinkle the chopped peanuts around the edges of the pie.
Chill, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 3 more hours.
To serve, carefully remove the rim from the pan by gently pressing upwards on the bottom while holding the rim in place. (If using a springform pan, run a thin knife around the crust to loosen it, then remove the springform ring.) Use a sharp knife to cut the pie into wedges. Wipe the knifer clean between each cut. Serve chilled.
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Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart
Think of this chocolate peanut butter tart as a grown-up version of a Reese’s Peanut Butter cup.
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped (best quality, such as Ghirardelli)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
- 2 cups cookie crumbs from Oreo baking crumbs, Dewey’s Brownie Crisp Cookies, Oreo Thins (no need to remove the cream), or Nabisco Chocolate Wafers
For the Peanut Butter Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup smooth peanut butter (I use Skippy Natural)
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup cold heavy cream
For the Topping
- 4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped (best quality, such as Ghirardelli)
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup salted roasted peanuts, chopped
Instructions
- Make the chocolate crust: Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Add the chocolate and stir until melted. (If necessary, place the bowl back in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds.) Add the cookie crumbs and stir until evenly combined. Press the cookie crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the rim of a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom (see note below). Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then cool on a rack.
- Meanwhile, make the peanut butter filling: In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese with the peanut butter, sugar and vanilla extract on medium speed until well-blended, a few minutes. In another large bowl, using an electric mixer, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Add one-third of the whipped cream to the peanut butter mixture and beat on low speed to combine. Add the remaining cream and, using a large rubber spatula, fold until evenly combined. Spoon the filling into the crust, smoothing the surface. Refrigerate, uncovered, for about 1 hour.
- Make the chocolate topping: In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate with the heavy cream and microwave at high power in 20-second intervals until the chocolate is just melted and the cream is hot. Stir until well blended, then let cool to barely warm, stirring occasionally. Spread the chocolate topping over the chilled peanut butter filling and sprinkle the chopped peanuts around the edges of the pie. Chill, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 3 more hours.
- To serve: Carefully remove the rim from the pan by gently pressing upwards on the bottom while holding the rim in place. (If using a springform pan, run a thin knife around the crust to loosen it, then remove the springform ring.) Use a sharp knife to cut the pie into wedges. Wipe the knife clean between each cut. Serve chilled.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: This pie can be made a day ahead, then covered and refrigerated until ready to serve.
- Note: You can find a tart pan with a removable bottom at any kitchen shop or online. However, if you can’t your hands on one, you can also use a 10-inch springform pan and bring the crust about 1 inch up the rim (or for a 9-inch springform pan, bring the crust about 1-½ inches up the rim).
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (10 servings)
- Calories: 703
- Fat: 50 g
- Saturated fat: 24 g
- Carbohydrates: 60 g
- Sugar: 46 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 12 g
- Sodium: 221 mg
- Cholesterol: 76 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Comments
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Hi there, loved the recipe!
Do you have any suggestions for why my topping layer wasn’t shiny like yours? Looked shiny when first mixed, then by the time i put it on was a bit thicker and less glossy. Did i stir it too much or let it cool too long? Thanks 🙂 🙂
Kate
Hi Kate, so glad you enjoyed this! You may have let it cool too long and it lost some of its sheen. Keep in mind though that it does naturally lose some of its shininess as it sits. (The picture that I took was likely right after I finished preparing the tart.) Hope that helps!
I made this for my mom’s birthday. My dad loved it! He and my mom ate it up. It was easy to make as well.
I’m just attempting to make this, and have not got past the crust as despite following directions exactly, I have a sludge instead of crumbs, and it is far too liquid to stick to the tart pan. I see many others have done this recipe with great success so really can’t understand what has gone wrong. I did think the amount of melted chocolate was too much, and may re attempt using 2 oz instead of 4. Cannot fathom how the quantities as written result in crumbs that can be pressed into the dish!
Not sure how I can rate this when I can’t seem to make the dish work as written.
Been making this pie for probably 8 years for my on choc loving husband’s birthday. After eating half or so, we freeze in sets of two slices, which quality wise works great, but doesn’t last long there. I use TJ chocolate cats and TJ organic dark chocolate bars.
Wonderful dessert – looked just like the photo. Potential problem, however, is that Nabisco wafers are apparently discontinued. I found one local store that carried them as does Amazon.
I always use chocolate graham crackers. This recipe is incredibly delicious! Thanks Jen!
Hi, I was wondering what I did wrong if my crust just sort of all sunk to the bottom of the pan. It didn’t really stick to the side of the pan. Help!
Hi Victoria, sorry you had a problem with this! I’m wondering if perhaps you need to push the crust up the sides of the pan a bit more forcefully. Once you put the crust ingredients in the pan, try using something like a measuring cup to push the crust ingredients up the sides of the pan. Hope that helps!
Oh my gosh, chocolate and peanut butter together in the most yummy way! I’ve made this dessert several times, usually over the holidays, and it always gets rave reviews. I was happy how nicely it came out of the tart pan. It both looks and tastes divine 🙂
Wow! This was incredible! Delicious, and it looked like something I would have bought from an upscale bakery, yet it was very easy to make. What an impression it will make on dinner guests! It froze really well. I cut into individual servings and wrapped each piece in press and seal then put them all in a large zip loc freezer bag. I could take out enough for just my husband and I or more if the kids were here. It defrosted well in the frig and I let it come to room temp before serving.
Thanks Jen for another keeper!
This looked lovely and tasted really good. I wasn’t able to find the wafers so instead separated oreos from the centers and used those. I also forgot to add the crushed peanuts to the top before the final chill but added them after – it still looked pretty but of course they didn’t really set in the ganache. I like PB and chocolate combos that are just a touch less sweet but that didn’t stop me from chowing down on this tart. The filling was very light and airy. The directions for the ganache was the easiest one I’ve ever done with the best results and I have since used it on several different recipes that call for chocolate ganache!
I halved the recipe, divided in four 4” paper tartlette pans and only baked the crust for 5 minutes. Perfect dessert fix – rich ganache, light and creamy peanut butter filling and dark crunchy crust. My husband said if he was served this in a restaurant he would be in heaven. One tartlette cut in half was plenty for each of us to satisfy the chocolate peanut butter craving. Wondering if I can freeze the rest.
So glad you enjoyed them! I’ve never frozen it/them before and not confident about how it would freeze, but if the alternative is letting it go to waste, it’s worth a try. Please LMK how the leftovers are if you do freeze it!
This was a delicious and elegant looking dessert in made for my wife’s birthday. We had leftovers so we decided to freeze it. Thawed it out a week later for one hour before eating and thought it survived freezing nicely.