The Union House Peanut Butter Pie

The Union House Peanut Butter Pie
Makes 12 to 16 servings

2 cups crushed Oreo cookies (22 whole cookies)
2 tablespoons melted butter
3 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 prepared 9-inch chocolate cookie pie crust
Bittersweet chocolate ganache (see recipe)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Make crust by mixing cookies with butter. Press onto bottom, and partially
up sides, of a 10-inch springform pan. Bake in preheated oven 7 to 10
minutes or until firm. Set aside to cool.

In large bowl, whip cream with granulated sugar until firm.

In another bowl, combine cream cheese, peanut butter and powdered sugar and
beat until smooth.

Take about 1/3 of the whipped cream and blend it into the cream cheese
mixture; then fold in remaining whipped cream and mix just until filling is
smooth.

Pour mixture into prepared crust and chill several hours before serving.

Prepare ganache. When pie is chilled, remove from refrigerator and pour
ganache over top. Refrigerate again.

Bittersweet chocolate ganache

10 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 cup heavy whipping cream

In heavy saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Remove from heat and pour over
chocolate in a bowl. Let sit about 1 minute, then whisk until chocolate is
completely dissolved.

Note: If you prefer a lighter topping, you can reduce the amount of
chocolate by 2 or 3 ounces. If desired, filling mixture can be cut in half
and used in a 9-inch pie plate that has been lined with a cookie crust.