No-Bake Candy Bar Pie

A decadent dessert that starts with a toasty graham cracker crust, followed by a layer of rich chocolate ganache, a silky peanut butter filling, and finished off with a generous sprinkle of ooey gooey Milk Way Caramel bits and a final drizzle of chocolate ganache!

Since we’re in the dog days of Summer, the last thing you wanna do is turn on the oven to heat up the house even more. This is especially true when you don’t have any air conditioning, like myself! Hence, the reason why no-bake pies make for the perfect Summertime dessert! 

Although most people think of berries or fresh fruit during the Summer, my mind never strays from chocolate, chocolate, and um…more chocolate!!

This brings me to my next heavenly creation of the week…

No-Bake Candy Bar Pie!!!

The name kind of suggests that a 6-year old came up with the recipe. I mean, isn’t it every child’s dream to just eat as much candy, frosting, and chocolate as they want? This pie is like giving a kid a cupcake and telling them that it’s ok to just lick off the frosting and leave the cake. 

First you have the sweet graham cracker crust…

Then you have a layer of rich chocolate ganache…

Followed by a dreamy, creamy butterscotchy and peanut buttery filling…

Finally, it’s finished off with diced Milky Way Caramel Bites, and even MORE chocolate ganache!

It’s got all the flavors you want in a candy bar, except it’s all in the form of a wonderful, richly decadent pie!

Not only is this no-bake pie a cinch to make, but you can also make it well in advance of an event and freeze it for a week or so. Just make sure to refrigerate it the the night before so that it’s ready to serve the next day.

I originally thought of making an Oreo crust, but opted for a graham cracker crust since I was going to add a layer of chocolate ganache. As opposed to most graham cracker crust recipes that use granulated sugar, I used brown sugar and it tasted SO much better! I also think the crust holds together a little better because of the extra moisture of brown sugar. From now on, this is how I’m going to make my graham cracker crusts!!

The tanginess of the cream cheese is actually very subtle in the filling, because of the peanut butter which takes a front seat in the overall flavor. In fact, even though there was twice as much butterscotch as there was peanut butter in the filling, I could really taste the peanut butter! Which really wasn’t such a bad thing at all…

To make sure that the filling would set up properly, I added some unflavored gelatin. Though I was a little worried that the filling would turn out too firm, I was pleasantly surprised by the texture! So smooth and silky! And because it wasn’t as light and airy like most cream pies (which is nice too), I was able to eat it little slower and savor each smooth, luxuriously silky bite of pure Godliness. 

What really puts this pie over the top is the abundance of diced Milky Way Caramel Bites sprinkled on top.

While you can definitely chop up regular Milk Way candy bars in this recipe, I prefer the simple caramel bites because of the allover smooth texture of the pie.

The dark chocolate ganache added a nice contrast in flavors between the peanut butter filling and the graham cracker crust. And when it makes its second appearance drizzled on top, it intertwines perfectly with the sweetness of the milk chocolate from the Milky Way bites. Excuse me a moment, while I wipe the drool off of my keyboard.

Ok, I’m back! Now let’s get to makin’ this pie!

To make the crust, finely crush the graham crackers in a large resealable zip-top bag by rolling with a rolling pin. Add the brown sugar and butter and stir with a fork. Using the back of a fork, or your hands, press mixture firmly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

To make the ganache, pour the chocolate chips and heavy cream into a microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. Pour 3/4 (about 1 cup) of the ganache into the graham cracker crust and spread into an even layer. Reserve the rest of the ganache to use later. Place crust in the freezer while you make the filling.

To make the filling, pour the butterscotch chips into a medium microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave for 1 minute. Add the peanut butter, then microwave for an additional 30 seconds. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. Set aside.

In a small bowl, pour 1/4 cup of water over the gelatin. Stir and allow to thicken. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip cream cheese until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla. Microwave gelatin for 10 seconds until it becomes liquid again, then beat into cream cheese until smooth. The mixture may look a little lumpy and odd at first, but keep beating until you get a smooth consistency. Add your butterscotch mixture into the mixer and beat on high until totally smooth–about 2 minutes. Add the whipped topping and continue beating on high for about 2 minutes.

Immediately pour mixture into graham cracker crust and use a spatula or butter knife to create a smooth surface on top. Coarsely chop the Milky Way Caramel Bites and sprinkle evenly over the pie. Finish by drizzling the remainder of the chocolate ganache over the chopped candy.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.  

No-Bake Candy Bar Pie

A decadent dessert that starts with a toasty graham cracker crust, followed by a layer of rich chocolate ganache, a silky peanut butter filling, and finished off with a generous sprinkle of ooey gooey Milk Way Caramel bits and a final drizzle of chocolate ganache!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 45 minutes mins

Chilling Time 4 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Total Time 5 hours hrs

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 10 Servings

Ingredients

  

For the Crust

• 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs (about 8 whole crackers)
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 7 Tablespoons salted butter melted

For the Chocolate Ganache

• 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup heavy cream

For the Filling and Topping

• 1 cup butterscotch chips
• ½ cup creamy peanut butter
• ¼ cup water
• 1 (.25 oz) packet unflavored gelatin
• 8 ounces cream cheese softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 (8 oz) container whipped topping
• 1 (7 oz) package Milky Way Simply Caramel Bites (or your favorite candy bar)

Instructions

 

For the Crust

• Finely crush the graham crackers in a large resealable zip-top bag by rolling with a rolling pin.
• Add the brown sugar and butter and stir with a fork.
• Using the back of a fork, or your hands, press mixture firmly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

For the Chocolate Ganache

• Pour the chocolate chips and heavy cream into a microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth.
• Pour 3/4 (about 1 cup) of the ganache into the graham cracker crust and spread into an even layer. Reserve the rest of the ganache to use later.
• Place crust in the freezer while you make the filling.

For the Filling and Topping

• Pour the butterscotch chips into a medium microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave for 1 minute. Add the peanut butter, then microwave for an additional 30 seconds. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, pour 1/4 cup of water over the gelatin. Stir and allow to thicken.
• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip cream cheese until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla.
• Microwave gelatin for 10 seconds until it becomes liquid again, then beat into cream cheese until smooth. The mixture may look a little lumpy and odd at first, but keep beating until you get a smooth consistency.
• Add your butterscotch mixture into the mixer and beat on high until totally smooth--about 2 minutes. Add the whipped topping and continue beating on high for about 2 minutes.
• Immediately pour mixture into graham cracker crust and use a spatula or butter knife to create a smooth surface on top.
• Coarsely chop the Milky Way Caramel Bites and sprinkle evenly over the pie. Finish by drizzling the remainder of the chocolate ganache over the chopped candy. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

Notes

I've found that the pie is even better when you let it sit out in room temperature for about 15 minutes which will allow it to soften a little more!