Cracker Crust Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients:

• 50 Ritz Original crackers (about 4 of the short cracker stacks)
• 1 stick (4 oz.) butter, melted
• 4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• ¹/₂ cup peanut butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• ¹/₂ cup milk
• 1 container (8 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed for 4 hours in the refrigerator
• ¹/₄ cup salted peanuts (optional)
• Chocolate syrup, for serving (optional)

Instead of making your own crust, you can also buy a pre-made crust to make things easier. In that case, omit the Ritz crackers and butter.

Instructions:

• Crush the Ritz crackers. Dump the crumbs into a 9-inch glass pie plate, reserving a couple tablespoons of crumbs for garnish, and add the melted butter. Mix thoroughly and press the crumbs into the bottom and side of the pie plate to form a crust.
• In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, peanut butter, and powdered sugar and beat on medium speed until smooth, scraping down the sides occasionally. Slowly pour in the milk and mix on low until you have a perfectly smooth slurry. With a rubber spatula, fold in the entire container of Cool Whip, which makes it fluffier than the mixer would. Pour the mixture into the crumb crust, smooth it out, and garnish the top with the reserved cracker crumbs.
• Freeze for at least 4 hours
• Take the pie out of the freezer 10-15 minutes before serving to soften a bit.
• Top with salted peanuts and chocolate syrup if desired.