A couple weekends ago I had eight people for dinner after church on Sunday.  I needed a dessert that was quick and wouldn’t heat up the house because it was a hot day!  I immediately thought about a Frozen Peanut Butter Pie that I’ve made lots of times from Southern Living.  I knew I had all the ingredients except one on hand, so one dessert was checked off in my mind.  That’s a great feeling!

The next pie recipe I went looking for was something with strawberries.  I stumbled across a recipe for a Strawberry Mousse Pie that sounded really refreshing for a June day.  I also had all the ingredients for that yummy dessert in my freezer and pantry!  Bingo!  Here are the results:

 

I decided to make a Chocolate Graham cracker crust for both pies.  Why?  Because I love both chocolate covered strawberries and Peanut Butter cups!  The crust was a cinch to make!  Here’s my recipe:

Chocolate Graham Cracker Pie Crust Recipe
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

Place all ingredients in a bowl, and mix until combined. Press the mixture into one regular sized pie tin. Chill while preparing the filling.  I really even found that it’s best to freeze it so it won’t crumble.

 

Ingredients

1 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored Jell-O®
2/3 cup boiling water
3 cubes ice
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 cup strawberries, hulled and sliced (I used frozen, sliced berries)
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust

Directions: In a medium bowl, combine gelatin and boiling water. Stir 3 minutes, or until gelatin is dissolved. Add ice and stir until gelatin thickens and cools. Fold in the whipped topping and strawberries. Chill until mixture will mound, then spoon into crust. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Now for the Frozen Peanut Butter Pie

 

Ingredients
1 cup whipping cream (or use Cool Whip!)
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (9-inch) prepared chocolate pie crust

Preparation

1. Beat whipping cream at medium speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.

2. Combine cream cheese and next 3 ingredients; beat until creamy, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Fold in whipped cream. Spoon cream cheese mixture into piecrust. Freeze 1 hour.

This is also super yummy with a small peanut butter cup as a garnish.  Or I’ve also sprinkled the crust with peanuts before adding the filling.  Aaaaand, if you double the recipe, you can fill three crusts!!!!

These are great do-ahead desserts.  You could keep both pies in the freezer until needed and then whip them out to look like the hostess with the mostess!

Anything special being baked up in your kitchen this week?

With love from my country kitchen,