A Cap'n Crunch No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie featuring a Golden Oreo - Cap'n Crunch crust and a peanut butter pie filling made with salted caramel and cream cheese! The perfect make-ahead party dessert!
IT ALL STARTED WITH A SHAKE
Our family doesn't eat out very often, but when we do -- we make sure it's going to be really good. One of our tried-and-true favorites is a little burger joint called Grub Burger. It's trendy and a little bit retro all rolled into one. The burgers are great, the sweet potato fries are spectacular, but one of my favorite things about it is the fact that we get to bribe our kids into good behavior by waiving the reward of a hand-scooped shake in their precious, (sometimes) ill-behaved little faces. And let me tell you, it works like a charm.
Not to mention the fact that if they're having a shake, I may as well go ahead and grab one too. Grub Burger is always trying new things when it comes to their shakes, and when I came across the edition entitled "The Cookie Butter Crunch Shake," I was all aboard. The shake featured vanilla ice cream, cookie butter, and none other than the famous Cap'n Crunch cereal. I meant to only drink half...but, I most definitely consumed the entire thing. Like, all of it, and I was officially obsessed.
WHAT IS CAP'N CRUNCH, ANYWAY?
While I was practically inhaling the shake, I realized that I couldn't quite put my finger on what Cap'n Crunch's main flavor component was. I mean, it most definitely had the sweet and salty vibe going on, but what in the world were those delicious, crispy little corn puffs made of? After an interesting read on Wikipedia, I found out that the original Cap'n Crunch recipe was inspired by a brown sugar butter sauce. Sounds like caramel to me. After all, caramel is made of sugar, butter, and cream...which is essentially butter. Yum.
CAP'N CRUNCH & NO BAKE PEANUT BUTTER PIE -- SOME THINGS ARE MEANT TO BE
Around the time I found myself re-obsessing over Cap'n Crunch, my neighbor brought over a concoction that I had never in my life laid eyes on, but boy was it beautiful: A no-bake peanut butter pie. It was a mile high, with a chocolate cookie crust, topped with layers of creamy butter filling and luscious whipped cream. And man, was it delicious.
What if I could incorporate the flavors of Cap'n Crunch into a pie? A cool and airy, mile-high no bake peanut butter pie. That sounded like a winner to me, and a winner it was, indeed.
HOW TO MAKE A NO BAKE PEANUT BUTTER PIE
A no-bake pie, ironically enough, begins with a pie shell...which is baked. I guess if you were to purchase a pre-baked cookie crust pie shell, then it would truly be a no bake pie. However, I must kindly ask you consider baking your own for this recipe. Cause friends, this is one you are not going to want to miss out on. But, we'll get to that later.
It might surprise you to learn that just about all no bake peanut butter pies have cream cheese in them. I didn't taste it at all in my neighbor's pie, but then again, peanut butter and chocolate are some pretty big flavors. So really, it's no wonder.
The cream cheese in the base of the pie serves as a stabilizer and helps to keep that filling upright and standing tall. Yes, please. In addition to the cream cheese, you'll also find peanut butter (duh) and powdered sugar. To finish things off, most no bake peanut butter pies get topped off with a great big serving of Cool Whip...and once again, I'm going to have to request we shake things up.
HOW TO MAKE IT A CAP'N CRUNCH NO BAKE PEANUT BUTTER PIE
Cap'n Crunch and Golden Oreo Cookie Crust
Let's start with that homemade cookie crust I had mentioned earlier. This crust is truly phenomenal guys. And, just may be my absolute most favorite part. Here we go: This crust is made like most Oreo cookie crusts, however, this one is made with Golden Oreos and Cap'n Crunch, and I made sure that Cap'n Crunch flavor was going to show up and show out within this crust.
HOW TO MAKE A HOMEMADE OREO CRUST
To make the Oreo Cookie Crust, you simply add the Cap'n Crunch and Oreos to a food processor and process until they have a fine crumb (like breadcrumbs). Then, you'll slowly add melted butter through the feed tube with the processor running. The butter gets incorporated all throughout the crumbs and the buttery crumbs get transferred to the pie dish to be baked.
THE HEAVENLY FILLING
I found the best combination for Cap'n Crunch peanut butter pie filling was salted caramel (ya know, for that Cap'n Crunch flavor), peanut butter, our cream cheese stabilizer, peanut butter, and vanilla extract to round out the flavors. It all gets mixed together in a big bowl, and goes right on top of the cooled pie shell.
THE PERFECT TOPPING
On top of the pie filling is thick and luscious homemade whipped cream, followed by a handful crushed Cap'n Crunch cereal. The salty sweet topping goes on and it's time for a chill.
No bake pies should be served cold, and require a few hours in the fridge before they can stand up tall. So, if you want a pie that doesn't look sad after cutting into, make sure you allow at least four hours of chill time, but preferably, make it a day ahead and let it sit overnight in the fridge.
SOMETIMES BRIBERY WORKS IN A GAL'S FAVOR
Now, I can totally see why parents are forewarned against using bribery techniques amongst their kiddos, but I gotta tell ya -- this one really worked out in my favor. If it weren't for my sweet little terrors and their milkshake reward at our favorite burger spot, I might have never pondered up this lovely little concoction.
In fact, I've already made this Cap'n Crunch no bake peanut butter pie on two occasions. The first go-round, the crowd gobbled it up so fast, my poor husband didn't even make it over to the table in time to snag a piece! It's a perfect combination of salty-sweet, creamy-crunchy, tangy and smooth, and an absolute guaranteed hit at your next bash. Please, enjoy!
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Cap'n Crunch No Bake Peanut Butter Pie ©
Ingredients
For the Cap'n Crunch Pie Crust:
- 24 Golden Oreos (with filling)
- 2 ½ cups Cap'n Crunch breakfast cereal, separated
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the Salted Caramel and Peanut Butter Filling:
- 1 ¼ cup store-bought salted caramel
- 12 ounces (1 ½ packages) cream cheese at room temperature
- ¾ cup smooth peanut butter
- 1 ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
For the Homemade Whipped Cream Topping:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Generous pinch fine sea salt
Instructions
For the Cap'n Crunch Pie Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350° and have ready a greased 9" pie dish.
- Add all of the Oreos and 2 ¼ cups Cap'n Crunch to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade attachment and process until the mixture becomes a fine crumb.Slowly drizzle the butter through the feed tube, and process until evenly distributed. Carefully, scrape the side of the bowl and process once more, if needed.
- Pour the contents of the bowl into the prepared pie dish, and gently press the filling evenly across the bottom of the pie dish and up the sides of the dish (about ⅔'s of the way) until it is of an even thickness.
- Bake for 10-13 minutes, or until the crust takes on a slightly deeper golden hue. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
For the Salted Caramel and Peanut Butter Filling:
- Add the salted caramel, room temperature cream cheese, peanut butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. If you do not have a stand mixer, use a large mixing bowl and a handheld mixer.
- Beat the mixture on medium-high speed until well-combined, and transfer the cooled pie shell. Smooth over the top, and set aside while you make the whipped cream.
For the Homemade Whipped Cream Topping:
- Add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt to the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. If you do not have a stand mixer, use a large mixing bowl and a handheld mixer.
- Beat the mixture on medium-high speed until it has thickened and stiff peaks have formed.
Garnish and Chill:
- Spread the whipped cream across the top of the pie, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight. Just before serving, crush the remaining ¼ cup of Cap'n Crunch in your hands, and scatter across the top of the pie. Serve and enjoy.
Notes
ABOUT STIFF PEAKS:
To determine whether or not you have stiff peaks, turn the beaters (or the whisk attachment) upward so they are facing the ceiling. If the peaks do not move or slump over, they are stiff peaks. If the peaks do slump over, continue mixing. *Smucker's Simple Delight Salted Caramel Topping was used for this recipe*Nutrition
Looking for more no-bake pie ideas? Check out these AH-MAZING pie recipes from some of my favorite blogger friends!
No Bake Sour Cream Lemon Pie
Pistachio Pudding Pie
Easy No Bake Strawberry Pie
S'mores Coconut Cream Pie
No Bake Pina Colada Pie
No Bake S’mores Pie
No Bake Oreo Cannoli Cream Pie
Strawberry Fluff Pie
No Bake Lemon Icebox Pie
Beverly says
Is the salted caramel called for Smucker’s Salted Caramel Topping?
Kelly Anthony says
Yes! That is exactly the brand I used. Will go and specify that in the recipe notes now 🙂 Thanks for asking!
Brittany says
Captain Crunch and peanut butter are two of my favorite things!!! So excited to try this recipe out 🙂
Kelly Anthony says
Thanks, Brittany! I'd love to see how your pie turns out! Feel free to share a pic if you don't mind 🙂 And they're two of my favorite things too!!
LESLIE JONES says
I made this in July, and it was a huge hit! Leslie Jones
Kelly Anthony says
Oh, yay! Thank you, Leslie! Love hearing that!! 🙂 HUGS!