• The crust can be unbaked or baked. For a crispy crust, bake the crust and preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
• Using a pastry brush, brush some melted coconut oil all over a 9-inch round pie pan with removable bottom (this makes it easier to unmold the crust, especially if you bake it!). Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, add almond flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
• Use your hands to knead the ingredients together for about 90 seconds. Squeeze well all ingredients to bring them in contact and create a sticky pie dough. You don't have to form a ball as it's a press-in crust but make sure the dough is consistent and sticky.
• Bring the dough into the pan and press in the dough to cover the entire pan. Make sure you don't leave holes, or it will crack in those areas when baked. Use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface. I recommend watching my recipe video below to see my technique to get the crust pretty in a second.
• Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes at 350°F (180°C) or freeze it for 10 minutes if you prefer your pie raw. Meanwhile, prepare the peanut butter filling.
• In a blender, add all the peanut butter filling ingredients. Blend at high speed until it forms a thick sticky paste. If it is too thick and hard to blend, add a splash more of coconut milk up to 1/4 cup. Always blend between each addition.
• If you bake the crust, remove the pie from the oven and cool down for 15 minutes in the pan, then push the removable bottom to release the pie crust easily. You may have to loosen the sides of the crust with the tip of a sharp knife to make sure it unmold without breaking on the sides.
• When the crust is at room temperature, pour the peanut butter filling into the pie crust. If you freeze the crust to make a no-bake peanut butter pie, take the pie out of the freezer and pour the filling immediately. That is ok if the crust is very cold.
• Spread evenly the peanut butter filling onto the pie crust.
• Refrigerate 30 minutes then decorate with pieces of vegan dark chocolate and a drizzle of fresh peanut butter and melted dark chocolate.

Storage

• Store the pie in the fridge for up to 4 days in a cake box to prevent the top from drying out.
• If you didn't bake the crust, you can freeze the whole pie, or slices, in an airtight container and defrost for a few hours before serving. Serve half-frozen or cold.