Did you know that yesterday was the Chinese Moon Festival?
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You’d think, having lived in China, I would’ve known this, but the truth is I had no idea until a friend called me up a few days ago and asked if I wanted to come over to celebrate. Celebrate? Heck, when someone says celebrate, I hear party. And I never pass up an excuse for a party (especially on a school night!). Something else I never pass up? An opportunity to share food, showing others that healthy, vegan food can taste delicious. Therefore, last night I brought the variation of Secret Raw Cheesecake mentioned in my last post, peanut butter cup pie:
Katie, Arisana doesn’t make pnb; how is this post relevant to Artisana Week?
I’ve got it covered. Literally. My pie is covered in homemade Artisana Cacao Bliss! 🙂
Pb and chocolate were meant to be together. My friends all seemed to agree, as they gobbled up the vegan pie faster than you could say “Zhongqiu” (the Chinese word for the moon festival). In retrospect, I probably should’ve made a bigger pie as opposed to a miniature version. But my friend said to bring finger food, as it was a snacky-type party, not a main-dish one. Plus, there were only six of us. So I figured everyone would be happy with a mini slice. That way, they’d save room for all the other delicacies people would bring (which turned out to be an array of non-vegan moon pies and dumplings). Boy was I ever wrong-o! “Is there any more of that peanut butter pie?” seemed to be the mantra of the night. Even the pale green hue (from the zucchini) didn’t phase them. Guess I’ll be making another peanut butter pie in the near future. That’s okay; it only takes a total of about five minutes to make. And the peanut butter variation is much cheaper than the original cashew cheesecake version (thanks to my favorite peanut butter being only $2.50 a tub).
And now I’m going to totally ruin the gorgeousness of the photo above with the abomination below:
Seriously? They wanted more of this stuff? Perhaps I should have shown the above photo first; then I could’ve had an entire pie to myself!
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Healthy “Peanut Butter Cup” Pie
- 1/2 cup (110g) peanut butter
- 1/2 cup (80g) chopped zucchini (or you might sub banana!)
- Optional: choc. chips or melted chocolate
- Other ingredients for the “Secret Veggie” Cheesecake
Make this pie the same way you’d make the veggie cheesecake, but exchange pb for the cashew butter and cut back on (or omit) the lemon juice.
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Do your friends like to eat?
Or do you have a lot of “salad only” friends on diets? I swear, I think my girl friends like to eat more than my guy friends, especially when it comes to dessert. (Beer, now that’s another story.) I’ve even had two ex-boyfriends who didn’t like chocolate! Remind me again why I dated them… oh yeah, ’cause it meant more chocolate for me!
Finally, a shout-out to Erica, who also already made this pb pie!
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Britta says
You know, I’ve got your recipes bookmarked on my comp. so that as soon as we finish our travels and I get back to my kitchen I can start whipping up some of these concoctions (and even already have when the opportunity presents itself)…yes, think CCK does Japan, Sicily, Paris, Spain…this pie is so on my hit list!
Marina says
Oh peanut butter pie…that’s just awesome.
I think I have to try that one.
My girl collegues love to eat, but that doesn’t come without complaining how much they’ve eaten, how they should go on a diet….y’know the drill. It’s pretty annoying, and I easily get immersed in thoughts like that too
Alisa - Frugal Foodie says
Oh you are killing me. It is way too early to be looking at PB & chocolate!
hippierunner says
I can’t believe you knew (and were with!) people who didn’t like chocolate, lol. Ooh I like being sneaky with desserts occasionally; I will try this recipe soon!
VEGirl says
Are you kidding? Most of my girl friends can totally eat!! They are so nice and always have snacks I can eat at parties 🙂
I have a couple guy friends (either my age or adults from places I work at) bu tI haven’t exactly seen any of them eat. But one person I’m thinking of likes chocolate but HATES anything with coconut! WHA?? He was totally making the icky face while I was spilling my guts about my love to coconut butter.
VEGirl
VEGirl says
Ps: really pretty picture (the cheesecake that is. I don’t know about the green monster magic bullet thing) 😉
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
No flash 😉 😉
Krystina says
I would have to stop myself from eating that entire thing. You’re a genius!
thedelicateplace says
my friends and i love to eat! we’re foodies in training 🙂 that pie looks so good and fudgy! i want to lick my screen
spoonfulofsugarfree says
Oh My goodness, my family is such a HUGE fan of chocolate and peanut butter 🙂 Yum! I buy my peanut butter from costco-its organic, super creamy (the best I’ve ever tatsed), just peanuts and salt, and it comes in packs of 2 for really cheap 🙂 YAY!
But I have two groups of friends: the girls that don’t exercise and diet, and the athletes who eat a ton! I have a really great friend who wants to go to culinary school to become a pastry chef! We have fun sharing recipes!
Kiki says
Okay, so I have 20493048 things going on in my life right now, but I promise to find SOME time to make this soon! It looks amazing 🙂
My friends are sort of a cross between salad-eaters and ravenous beasts. They’ll eat what ever yummy things I cook up for them when they come over, but after they finish they start to say things like “Kiki, stop making me fat. Now I have to work out more tomorrow!” -__-
EmbraceYourSkin says
So so good! Everything looks and sounds delicious!
Stefanie says
That looks really good. To know it is healthy is yet another reason to make it. 🙂
kelsey@snackingsquirrel.com says
KATIE! this looks rediculously amazing!! Peanut butter pie cheesecake!!! i first thought “omg that looks like a NYC style cheesecake” im beyond impressed, especially with the height that the layering got. the middle is super dense! i wouldve gladly let the others swoon over the “abomination” haha..and helped you devour this yummy beast of cheezcake! most of the girls i know are ‘secret eaters’ .. i dont hang around with them much anymore because theyre busy and not really much fun to be around frankly. im the only one that WANTS to go for brunch or head out for pizza at night..but i definitely hope to meet some more people that are like me that live closer, since most of the people i jive with are miles away, like YOU 🙁
XOXO <3
Kiersten says
Vegan PB cup cheesecake? Katie, I love you. Most of the female friends I have known like to eat, which is good, because I am uncomfortable eating around people who “only eat salad.”
Averie (LoveVeggiesAndYoga) says
Salad only friends on diets? That’s such an early 20s thing 🙂 No, my adult women friends do NOT live like that. Many have BTDT, but have wayyy moved past that. We are mothers, with lives, husbands, kids, and we EAT REAL FOOD! My god, you can’t grow a human on lettuce alone. Yes, I am vegan, but am not scared of fat and proper fueling 🙂
Amber Shea @Almost Vegan says
My female friends and I are DEFINITELY more obsessed with food and eating than almost any guy I know. Though I do have a couple foodie-dude friends!
Jessica (Fit and Clean) says
OMG, that pie looked AWESOME. Ooooooohhhhhh! 😀 I have friends of all sorts, although I have to admit, I work out a lot, and my friends from the gym like to eat, because we know we have to fuel our bodies or all of our obsessive compulsive exercising would be in vain, LOL! My friends who DON’T go to the gym are forever on salad diets, because they don’t think exercise is important, or they’re trying to lose weight. Well, it goes on forever because salad is not sustainable, in my personal opinion! One can not survive on salad alone 😉
Mary @ Bites and Bliss says
This looks awesome!! My friends like to eat simply because most of my friends are guys..and guys are definitely not salad only people. My girl friends say they can’t be around me without gaining a ton of weight because I eat all the time, which makes them want to eat all the time. They’re more of the bird-food type eaters, though.
Midnite says
I’m organizing a vegan type animal welfare event at my school to coincide with the end of Vegan MoFo an starting offering info and tidbits starting tomorrow with ‘Hug a Vegetarian Day’. I’ve got petitions, a raffle (can you suggest any good vegan prize ideas? I still need to round up some more and I’m not quite sure as to what), stickers, posters, flyers, info hand-outs, projector with a short film, small trivia/quizzes, little cutesy recipe cards with simple vegan recipes to hand-out, And to go with it I want to make a up a bunch of vegan stuff to kinda give away as free samples. Mainly some simple baked goods, or some maybe some mini raw fudge babies of yours, and one or two simple savoury things just to show people how delicious and normal vegan food can be. I’m not going to preach or convert (if anyone converts that’s awesome), I just want to raise awareness rights issues. So I was just wondering if yuo could suggest any recipes (either yours or someone else’s) that you know would appeal to a large omni crowd. I’m in high school so you can image the type. I need it to appeal to the teachers and students. So any help, tips, or recipes you could offer (or anyone around here, really) would be fantastic. I have no problem cooking/baking vegan as I’ve had to do it for myself for the last 7 years but it’s always been just me or my immdiate family or close friends who’s ever tried it and while they enjoy it I’m unsure as to what to serve to such a large and very different group. Thanks a ton in advance and I love your site so much
~Midnite
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
hey Midnite! I’ll write a longer reply later today when I have more time to devote to giving your comment the attention it deserves :).
Chocolate Covered Katie says
Hmmm… I’m definitely thinking baked goods would make good prizes! As for recipes ideas, I’d keep it simple. Go with something like chocolate chip cookies over the fancy-shmancy marzipan-raspberry truffles or something else “out there.” While “out there” might be delicious, you’ll win more peoples’ taste buds with things they know and are comfortable with, such as brownies and chocolate chip cookies. You know, standard stuff—just veganized! 🙂 Under my “Baked goods” tab (found here: https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/chocolate-covered-recipes/), I have a no-fail recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Definitely stay away from the raw desserts for now. Mainstream USA just isn’t ready lol! And good luck!!
(Oh, vegan cupcakes are always a good bet, too!)
Midnite says
Thanks a lot. -sigh- Canada, too, I’m afraid. I figured as much though but I wanted to get some other opinions too. Though it would be nice to show how even the incredibly weird seeming stuff to omnis can actually be totally delicious too (Maybe I’ll bring a few tiny ‘special’ things just to see if there are any brave folk in my school for fun. Give them a free raffle entry or something if they dare to eat it. lol). I’ll try your choco-chip cookie recipe though. A lot of the recipes I’ve tried for those seem to turn out very cakey. While not bad, it just isn’t right, yah know. Any suggestions on how to fix that? (Sorry for all the questions, btw, and happy ‘Hug a Vegetarian Day’! -hugs-
~Midnite
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Whole-wheat baked goods are usually “cakeier” than white-flour baked goods. My suggestion: now is not the time to worry about feeding them healthy food! Make it as decadent as you can!! One not-at-all-healthy vegan treat occasionally isn’t going to hurt anyone (Heck, it’s still healthier than the non-vegan versions).
Something else I like to do: just feed them the food, then–after they say they like it–tell them it’s vegan. That way, they don’t go into it being biased.
Hugs back!! 🙂 And let me know how it goes!
Midnite says
I’ll be honest, I’ve never once baked with whole wheat flour, always AP flour so I dunno. Anywho, I will. Thanks so much Katie.
~Midnite
*Andrea* says
omg i need to make the cheesecake!!!!!!!! cheesecake factory is my favorite, even though it makes me feel sick to my stomach i devour an entire slice of peanut butter cookie dough cheesecake. so worth it for once or twice a year 😉 but this could be a more frequent occurence!
Rachael says
I’m pretty happy that most of the women in my social circle are Earth mama, wholesome foodie eating types….they consume with gusto, and truly appreciate food. This is a new world for me; college, high school and the working world I’ve known were mostly composed of salad girls, or at least women who felt bad about eating. I definitely used to fit into that category – delicate foods in public, and decadent, gourmet foods in the deepest, darkest corner of my house…
I think women often appreciate food more than men – quality over quantity.
BroccoliHut says
My friends definitely love to eat–especially my fellow nutrition classmates! We love nothing more than to discuss food in class:)
Albizia says
My girl friends don’t really eat much. Most of them seem to be always on some kind of diet and talk about food much more than they actually eat it. But I think this pie will be a huge success if I offer it the boys 🙂
Erica says
Thanks so much for the shoutout 🙂
I actually made a second batch last night since the first one didn’t even last two days (namely my sister and her boyfriend had much the same reaction as your friends).
Not that I mind, since I got to make a fun variation – PB&J! I subbed out some of the zucchini for a handful of grapes. Oddly enough it turned out the opposite as your pictures – really pretty after the first blending but it turned a weird pale purple after the rest of the ingredients were added. Oh well, it still tastes delicious, even if it doesn’t look it. Thanks again for the recipe!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Oh my goodness, you win the title of most creative chef ever! PB&J pie sounds like so much fun! Thanks a bunch (of grapes) for the idea; I definitely want to try it :).
Midnite says
Thanks Katie!
40apples says
Ohhh deliciousness! That pie is going to haunt me until I make it… 🙂
My friends LOVE to eat. In fact, a lot of them (including my 2 roommates) are huge meat eaters and big time foodies. Our tastes couldn’t be farther from each other, though I consider myself a foodie too. But diversity makes the world more interesting, right?! I do have a couple friends who are very health-conscious too, and one “almost vegan” like me, so that’s a nice little camaraderie.
sherri says
Peanut butter and chocolate, I love it already.
My girl friends love to eat, but none of them are veg. They sit down with a huge t-bone steak or a couple of pounds of wings when we go out. All kinds make the world go round right?
JoLynn-dreaminitvegan says
Yum…that’s definitely for those peanut butter lovers out there.
Alyson says
Woah! PB pie! (: I’m in heaven. I have soooo many recipes that I need to try. It’s a shame I’m stuck in a dorm room with a meal plan for dining halls that have little vegan options. It’s soooo depressing and I always come back thoroughly disappointed in the food I get, but being able to make delicious vegan food makes my day sooo much better. I skip some meals to make vegan yummies and then I share them with my fellow floor members. (: Guess what’s next on the menu? (;
Kady @ Livin, Lovin, Learnin says
I always thought you were a genius, but it’s now proven beyond a reasonable doubt. I made this (minus the chocolate topping) and it is indescribably amazing. Another delicious way to eat it – pile some onto a graham cracker (preferably chocolate!) and top with the other half. Freeze. An hour or so later, eat your “ice cream sandwich”. It made my day 🙂
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
PB ice cram sammies?!? Who’s the genius now??? YOU!!
Allison says
I tried this for the first time yesterday, and all I can say is yummy…I am slowly cutting all meat/animal products from my diet…but having a sweet tooth and being an unabashed chocoholic desserts have been my first priority for recipe experimentation…and this one is already on my list of favorites
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Aww I’m so excited you liked it!! 🙂