I have remade this Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie Squares recipe since the original in 2013.  The first time I made 2 pans and this time I made a full pan for our family.

}I have not had to make a meal for a family with a new baby in a while. I remember after each child how wonderful it was to have dinner taken care of by friends as the end of the day I was extremely tired.

For the entrée I made my go to, Chicken Enchilada Quiche Recipe, which I hope people like because I keep making it. Also it is an easy enough recipe to make 2 so I can feed my family as well.

For dessert this time, I found the excuse to try this Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie Bars Recipe.

 

I named it Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie squares because it is similar to the Peanut Butter Pie my daughter made recently. I was a little nervous it was not going to come out nicely, but after several hours in the fridge you could easily cut out squares.

Here is a pic of me splitting the recipe into two pans.  One for our family and one in a disposable pan to give to another family.

HOW MANY PEOPLE DOES A PAN OF PUDDING SQUARES FEED

I get the portion size, but this family is big on desserts and we ate our serving of 6 in one dinner.   A full pan easily serves 12, so it’s a great make ahead dessert for a crowd. 

The dessert is rich but only in the peanut butter sense. Due to all the whipped cream it is light and would be good for a great make ahead dessert all year round.

HOW DO YOU CRUSH OREO COOKIES FOR A CRUST

You can start by crushing the Oreos in a bag but I felt the end result was probably too big of a crumb, I would recommend the food processor next time. You can also just add the melted butter and pulse a few more times for an even crumb crust. 

 

I pounded the ziploc bag with a rolling pin, then kept rolling it over and over to get small pieces. 

 Be sure to use a greased glass cup or a measuring cup to press down the cookie crust. 

HOW MANY LAYERS IN A PUDDING BAR?

Next steps are really making the layers of flavor, starting with peanut butter layer. I used smooth peanut butter but I am sure it would be good with chunky as well.

I do not recommend using all natural peanut butter as they extra oil will not mix in well. 

Do this step with patience and lightly spread the cream cheese mixture on top of the crust.  Next time I might put the crust in the freezer while I make the fillings. 

The middle layer is chocolate pudding with added whipped topping.  Be sure not to buy the cook and serve pudding in a box.  I might even make the larger box next time as I felt it could use more pudding. 

 

Final Layer of whipped cream. You can make homemade but this time I used low-fat Cool Whip.

Add a few more crushed up Oreos. Wouldn’t this be amazing with peanut butter Oreos?

See they came out pretty well and had good shape.

How would you change this recipe?