no-bake frozen PB&J pie
a recipe from the cutting room floor of Simply Julia!
Hi all!
In fun Substack news, I got to do
’s “Style Questionnaire” for her excellent newsletter BIG UNDIES. If you missed it, here it is!
Also in Substack news, this month’s
newsletter is sooooo good. It’s edited by my pal Timmy and this month is all about queer stuff and community, friendship and FOOD! It includes two recipes from me!
I am so excited to share a recipe for a No-Bake Frozen PB&J pie I wrote years ago that was originally going to go into Simply Julia but ended up on the cutting room floor. I offered it in one of my classes (see here), but otherwise I haven’t shared it widely and I just realized that was a MISSED OPPORTUNITY because it is SO GOOD.
The crust is directly inspired by Bill Smith’s Atlantic Beach Pie, one of my all time favorite desserts. It consists of crushed Saltine crackers, butter, sugar and a little salt, like a more savory version of a graham cracker pie. That mixture gets pressed into a pie dish and frozen for a bit to set while you make the filling which is essentially no-churn peanut butter ice cream. To make it, you whip some creamy peanut butter with sweetened condensed milk and cream cheese, then fold that together with whipped cream. That gets plopped in the crust and frozen until set. Then you whisk together some jelly (or jam) with lemon juice to loosen it and add a bit more acidity and pour that on top and, once again, let it all freeze. It’s the perfect make-ahead dessert and can happily live in your freezer for a few days (cover it with plastic wrap after it freezes to prevent any other flavors from penetrating).
It’s messy to cut but so, so, so delicious to eat. I highly recommend letting it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving.
Note that you’ll have half a can of sweetened condensed milk leftover. Keep it in your fridge and stir it into your coffee or tea (hot or iced), or make a tres leches cake!
No-Bake Frozen Peanut Butter + Jelly Pie
Makes one 9 inch [23 cm] pie, serves 8 - 10
For the crust:
4.25 ounces [120 g] saltine crackers (1 sleeve from a standard package)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup [1 stick] unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (if your crackers are unsalted please up this to a full teaspoon)
For the peanut butter filling:
1 cup [120 ml] heavy cream
1/2 cup [125 g] creamy peanut butter
7 ounces [198 g] sweetened condensed milk (half a 14 ounce can)
1/4 cup [2 ounces a.k.a. 56 g] cream cheese, cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon kosher salt
For the jelly topping:
3/4 cup [150 g] grape jelly (or whatever flavor jelly or jam you’d like)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
First, make the crust:
Place the crackers in a food processor and blitz until finely ground (or place in a large plastic bag, seal the bag, and crush with a rolling pin or a wine bottle until the crumbs are very fine). Add the sugar, butter, and salt and pulse until combined.
Transfer the crumbs to a 9 inch [23 cm] pie pan and spread them out to form an even layer on the base and up the sides of the pie pan. Use the underside of a measuring cup or a juice glass to press the crumbs down firmly.
Freeze the crust until firm, about 20 minutes.
Next, make the peanut butter filling:
Place the heavy cream in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric handheld mixer on high speed (or an electric stand mixer or just a whisk and a lot of elbow grease), whip the cream to form stiff peaks. Reserve the whipped cream.
Place the peanut butter, sweetened condensed milk, cream cheese, and salt in a separate large bowl. Use the same mixer (no need to wash the beaters) on high speed to whip the ingredients togethering until smooth and a little bit fluffy, about 2 minutes of mixing.
Use a rubber spatula to stir a quarter of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture to lighten in. Then fold the rest of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture in thirds, folding from the bottom of the bowl to the top with a rubber spatula. Doing this in stages helps you preserve as much air as possible.
Transfer the peanut butter mixture to the firm pie crust and gently spread it so it’s in an even layer. Freeze until just barely firm, 1 hour.
Next, make the jelly topping:
Place the jelly and lemon juice in a small bowl and whisk together. Evenly pour the jelly mixture on top of the partially frozen pie and spread with a rubber spatula so it’s in an even layer. Freeze for at least 3 hours, and up to 3 days, before cutting into wedges and serving.
hope you love the pie!
xoxooxox Julia
→→→→→→→ MY NEW BOOK, WHAT GOES WITH WHAT, WILL BE OUT ON OCTOBER 15TH!! ALL-PREORDER INFO IS RIGHT HERE!! ←←←←←←←←←
Now THAT is a KEEPER!! Runs to the pantry for ingredients....