Peanut Butter Honeycomb Pie is a delightful treat that blends multiple flavors to create something truly unique and delicious. The combination of peanut butter, honeycomb, and a flaky crust creates an amazing flavor profile that will satisfy your sweet tooth.
With its velvety peanut butter filling nestled atop a buttery crust, adorned with delicate shards of golden honeycomb, this pie is a true masterpiece that combines the timeless allure of a classic favorite with an unexpected twist. This recipe is taken from Bon Appetit and is great for Thanksgiving.
Peanut Butter Honeycomb Pie: From Crust to Filling
Making the crust is simple but requires time. You will need to pre-bake the crust to ensure a golden color when it’s finished baking. To make sure the pie doesn’t become soggy due to the peanut butter and honeycomb filling, you should cool the crust before adding the filling.
The filling of the Peanut Butter Honeycomb Pie is a blend of creamy peanut butter, whole milk, egg yolks, and a touch of sweetness. The peanut butter provides the base flavor, while the whole milk lends a subtle creaminess. The egg yolks enrich the filling while adding to its silken texture.
The topping of honeycomb and salted peanuts adds a delightful crunch and a touch of sweetness, perfectly complementing the creamy peanut butter filling and rich chocolate glaze.
The delicate sweetness balances perfectly with the natural nuttiness of the peanut butter, resulting in a harmonious flavor profile that will leave you in awe.
Peanut Butter Honeycomb Pie Recipe
Equipment
- Oven
- Food processor
- Glass Pie Pan
- Metal Pie Pan
- Stand Mixer Fitted with a whisk
Ingredients
Crust
- 9 nos. graham crackers (coarsely crushed)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar (packed, light)
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg (freshly grated)
- 6 tbsp butter (3/4 stick, melted)
Filling
- 8 egg yolks (large)
- 12 tbsp sugar
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 nos. vanilla bean (split lengthwise)
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks, room temperature)
- 1 cup peanut butter (creamy)
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Honeycomb
- 1 1/2 cup Sugar
- 3 tbsp syrup
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp baking soda (sifted)
Topping
- 2 ounces Bittersweet dark chocolate (chopped, do not exceed 61% cacao)
- 2 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
- honeycomb
- 1/4 cup peanuts roasted and salted
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat oven to 325°.
- Finely grind graham crackers, sugar, salt, and nutmeg in a food processor.
- Transfer crumb mixture to a medium bowl.
- Add butter and stir to blend.
- Use the bottom and sides of a measuring cup to pack crumbs onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9″ glass or metal pie pan.
- Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool.
Filling
- To prepare the filling, mix yolks and 6 tbsp of sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
- Beat at high speed until ribbons form, stopping once to scrape down sides of bowl, about 2 minutes.
- Combine milk and remaining 6 tbsp of sugar in a large saucepan.
- Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean and add bean.
- Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove bean.
- With the mixer running, gradually add hot milk mixture to yolk mixture.
- Scrape mixture back into pan.
- Whisking constantly, bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Remove pan from heat; whisk vigorously for 1 minute.
- Return custard to a mixing bowl, beat on high speed until cool, about 4 minutes.
- Mix in 1 tbsp of butter at a time.
- Add peanut butter, powdered sugar, and salt; beat to blend.
- Scrape filling into cooled crust; smooth top.
- Chill until set, 2-3 hours.
Honeycomb
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
- Combine sugar, corn syrup, honey, and 1/4 cup water in a heavy deep saucepan.
- Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves.
- Increase heat to high; bring to a boil.
- Cook without stirring, occasionally swirling the pan and brushing down sides with a wet pastry brush until sugar turns pale amber.
- Working quickly, add baking soda (mixture will foam up dramatically); whisk quickly just to combine.
- Immediately pour candy over the prepared sheet (do not spread out).
- Let stand undisturbed until cool, about 20 minutes.
- Hit candy in several places with the handle of a knife to crack it into pieces.
Topping
- Stir chocolate and butter in a medium bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until melted and smooth.
- Drizzle some of the chocolate glaze over the peanut butter filling, making a circle in the middle of the pie and leaving a 1″-2″ plain border.**
- Pile pieces of honeycomb and salted peanuts on top, then drizzle remaining chocolate glaze over.
- **The circle of chocolate hardens immediately on the cold pie, and when you add the rest of the toppings it's pretty difficult to get a clean slice. Therefore, piling the honeycomb on the pie, followed by the chocolate drizzle and peanuts is recommended.
Notes
- Make sure to pack the crumb mixture firmly onto the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan.
- You can drizzle extra chocolate on each slice, if desired.
- When making the honeycomb, work quickly once you add the baking soda to the sugar mixture.
- The mixture will foam up dramatically, so be prepared and whisk it just enough to combine before pouring it onto the prepared sheet.