Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Amazingness

Alright, friends. What I present to you today is not exactly groundbreaking or revolutionary. Everyone knows that peanut butter = good, peanut butter + chocolate = awesome, and peanut butter + chocolate + pretzels = amazing. You all also know that peanut butter pie is on the short list of necessary baked goods in my family at any holiday or event where I am involved. This 5-ingredient pie is so easy and such a crowd-pleaser, that it's almost silly NOT to make it.

So when a peanut butter-loving friend invited me to Shabbos lunch and asked me to bring dessert, out of sheer willingness to please (read: laziness and wanting to make the easiest thing I could think of), my mind went to my good old standby. But then I was told that there would be 12 people at lunch, which is just too many for my humble-looking little pie to accommodate. That, and I have a compulsory need to impress people and, as delicious as it is, my PB pie doesn't look impressive. So I decided to amp it up. Big time. A homemade salty pretzel crust, a sheet of gooey chocolate fudge, fluffy peanut butter filling, refreshing whipped cream, more salty pretzels to accent it, abstract chocolate and peanut butter decorations on top....yeah, goodbye unassuming little pie, sayonara to my 5-minute wunderkind. This effort was well worth it.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Amazingness

(serves a lot. Like, a lot.)


Crust:
4 cups of thin pretzels, crushed (just about a full 16 oz. bag), divided
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup margarine, melted

Chocolate Fudge Layer:
2 cups chocolate chips
3/4 cup pareve milk
1 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. vanilla

Peanut Butter Mousse Layer:
1 cup peanut butter
8 oz. pareve cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups pareve whipping cream, whipped

Garnish:
1 cup pareve whipping cream, whipped
1/3 cup peanut butter

To make crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the melted margarine, brown sugar, and 3 cups of crushed pretzels (reserve the last cup for garnish) until the margarine and sugar are evenly coating the pretzels. Pat the mixture into a 9"x13" pan and bake until slightly golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool, about 5 minutes. (It will be soft, but it will firm up as it cools more.)

To make fudge:
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips and pareve milk in 30-second intervals, until melted, stirring between "nukes." (It took me three 30-second intervals.) Whisk until smooth, and add honey and vanilla, whisking to incorporate. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes, and then pour over the slightly cooled pretzel crust, reserving 1/2 cup of the fudge for garnish. Place the chocolate covered crust in the refrigerator for at least one hour and allow to set.*

To make peanut butter mousse layer:
In a large bowl, mix the peanut butter and cream cheese with a hand mixer. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Add the whipped cream and beat for one minute, until fully incorporated. Pour the mousse over the chocolate-peanut butter crust and refrigerate.

To garnish:
Evenly spread the remaining whipped cream over the peanut butter mousse. Sprinkle the remaining cup of crushed pretzels over the whole dessert. Microwave the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate fudge in a closed ziploc bag for 15 seconds (until slightly warm and runny); snip a tiny bit off the corner of the bag, and abstractly zig-zag over the pretzels to decorate. Microwave the remaining 1/3 cup of peanut butter in a closed ziploc bag for 10 seconds, and do the same. Refrigerate up to 24 hours.

*Note: This dessert has a lot of steps, admittedly. But it can be broken up into stages: the crust can be made and covered in the chocolate fudge and allowed to sit in the fridge for up to a day. (In fact, this might work out great, since you want the fudge to be pretty well set before you cover it in the peanut butter mousse.) The mousse can be added to the crust a day before serving, as well, since you want all the layers to be firm so when you cut/scoop into it, it doesn't fall into a big blob. Not that that would make it taste bad. Literally, nothing will make this taste bad. It's chocolate, peanut butter, and pretzels, for G-d's sake!