The Absolute Best Peanut Butter Dessert To Make For Your Party

With enduring gratitude to Dr. George Washington Carver, peanuts and peanut products became and still are a popular American household staple. Although the invention of peanut butter itself can be attributed to Marcellus Gilmore Edson, who created peanut paste, and Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, who patented the process for using raw peanuts to make peanut butter, one thing is for sure: Peanut butter is synonymous with a wide variety of comfort foods, including the classic PB&J sandwich, Reese's peanut butter cups, savory stews like Filipino kare kare, and many more. With a selection of uses, there's nothing quite as satisfying as making and enjoying a classic peanut butter dessert with friends. Topping our list of 13 classic peanut butter desserts as the absolute best is a decadent peanut butter pie, with flavors so rich that they'll be all the rage at your next party.

Boasting a crumbly graham cracker crust and a light, no-bake filling including flavors of peanut butter, cream cheese, and brown sugar, the humble peanut butter pie is fairly simple to make. Typically, this pie is made with a hand-pressed graham cracker crust that is baked first before adding the creamy peanut butter filling, which is then set in the refrigerator before topping with whipped cream and chocolate shavings for slicing and serving. That said, there are several workarounds that can make this pie even easier, as well as many other fun ingredient additions and upgrades to fully customize this pie to your guests' liking.

For a truly handmade peanut butter pie, the absolute best way to go is by starting with a simple graham cracker crust recipe for an ideal base to hold the light and fluffy peanut butter filling. If you need a quicker crust, you can always grab a ready-made graham cracker crust from the store. Take an even more decadent twist on this peanut butter pie with a Keebler Chocolate Pie Crust (available on Amazon) if you want your pie to have more of a chocolate flavor than just the shaved chocolate pieces on top. Once you have your pie crust prepared or picked out, it's time to fill it up with irresistibly creamy peanut butter.

Getting to the filling, this no-bake mixture of peanut butter, cream cheese, and whipped cream is reminiscent of a cheesecake, but with a much stronger peanut butter flavor. Unlike a cheesecake, the cream cheese acts more as a stabilizer and takes a backseat to the main attraction of creamy peanut butter. Also, if you'd prefer a quicker and easier filling, grab a container of whipped topping and let it thaw before combining it with the cream cheese and peanut butter.

For toppings, basic dollops of whipped cream and shaved chocolate are best to add after the filling has set in the fridge. If you want even more decadence, add a sprinkling of Reese's Pieces (available on Amazon) or chopped-up Reese's peanut butter cups.