A Pie For Mikey

huh? Who is Mikey? click here.

Today's blog is inspired by the healing process of Jennie. Jennie is a woman I've never met. She writes a food blog. I've never read it. A friend posted something about her blog on facebook. As it turns out,  her husband, who loves peanut butter pie, recently passed away. There's a quasi-food-blog-movement last week to create this pie in memory of Jennie's late husband, and as a reminder to live in each moment, share your love with others, and enjoy some pie!

I've never made peanut butter pie until today. I've been sharing it with friends, my brother, and coworkers, too. Luckily, it is a natural pairing for Nicaraguan ingredients- I've added some fresh bananas and dark rum to my custard. The real peanut-y flavor comes from the crust, as the custard is a lighter pudding.

Enjoy this pie with loved ones, laughter, and hugs.

Nicaraguan Peanut Butter Pie


Peanut Cookie Crust
1 1/2 cup crushed cookies (I use Galletas Maria)
1 cup crushed peanuts
12 Tbs. butter, melted

Peanut Butter Custard

1 cup peanut butter (chunky)

1 tsp vanilla

1 can of homemade dulce de leche (can sub 1 cup of brown sugar)

1/2 cup sugar

pinch salt

1 Tbs. dark rum

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

2 eggs

2 cups milk

3 bananas, sliced

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2.  For the crust, in a medium bowl, combine cookies, peanuts and butter. Press into a 10" round cake pan, creating a cohesive crust long the bottom and sides of the pan.
3. For the custard, combine together peanut butter, vanilla, dulce de leche, sugar, salt, dark rum, cinnamon and eggs. Once combined, stir in 2 cups of milk.
4. Lay bananas in a layer, pressing them into the crust. Pour the custard mixture over the bananas. A few will float to the top, that's fine.
5. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the pie firms and center barely jiggles.
6. Let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes and then move to the refrigerator for 2 hours, or overnight.
7. Serve with a large helping of whipped cream and a big hug.

for the CNN story, click here.
for the facebook group, click here