Creamy Peanut Butter Pie

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. In a food processor, pulse the cookies with 1/4 teaspoon of salt until finely ground. Scrape the cookies into a 9-inch pie plate. Stir in the melted butter, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, until the crumbs are the texture of wet sand; you may not need to use all of the butter. Using your fingers, press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the side of the pie plate. Freeze the crust for 15 minutes.

2. Bake the crust for about 10 minutes, until lightly golden. Let cool on a rack.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the peanut butter with the cream cheese, 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and mix until thoroughly blended. In another bowl, whip 3/4 cup of the heavy cream until stiff. Whisk the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture. Spread the peanut butter filling in the crust in an even layer. Refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.

4. In the same whipped-cream bowl, whip the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream and 2 tablespoons of sugar with the vanilla until stiff. Spread the whipped cream over the pie. Sprinkle the pie with the chopped peanuts, cut into slices and serve.

Make Ahead

The peanut butter pie can be prepared through Step 3 and refrigerated, covered, overnight.