Peanut Butter Pie with Pretzel Crust

Peanut Butter Pie with Pretzel Crust 3 cups of ground pretzels, (about 6-7 cups whole pretzels, you can ground these until they are crumbs or leave them a bit thicker for more of a toffee bark texture) , plus more for decoration about 1/4 cup 1 cup butter, melted 1/3 cup sugar 1 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips 8 oz cream cheese, softened 1 1/4 cup peanut butter, crunchy (I used crunchy for texture) 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 12 oz Cool Whip (you can use lite) Reese's Mini Peanut Butter Cups for decoration In a mixing bowl, combine the crust ingredients with a fork until evenly moistened. Lightly coat the bottom and sides of an 9-inch springform pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the crumbs into the pan and, using the bottom of a measuring cup or the smooth bottom of a glass, press the crumbs down into the base and all the way up the sides. Bake for about 10 minutes, and then sprinkle chocolate chips over the bottom of the crust. Bake for an additional 5 minutes before removing from oven. Once removed, using a spatula, spread the melted chocolate chips to evenly coat the bottom and side of the pretzel crust with a thin layer of chocolate. Allow chocolate to completely cool in refrigerator before filling. Beat cream cheese and peanut butter together until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and powdered sugar until well combined, scraping down sides of the mixing bowl as necessary. Then gently fold in 2 cups or half of the cool whip tube. This should result in a light and fluffy texture. Pour the peanut butter filling evenly in the deep dish. Spread the remaining cool whip over peanut butter filling. Crush some reese's peanut butter cups and place together with ground pretzels around the outside of the pie in a circle. Place some whole and sliced peanut butter cups in the middle to form a pile. Keep refrigerated or frozen.