~ No kidding! Just four ingredients and five minutes is all you need for decadent (and healthy!) peanut butter silk pie – in a super-easy dip! Perfect with apples! ~

This Recipe Is:   •  Ready in 30 Minutes or Less  •  Make Ahead  •  Vegetarian  •  Gluten Free  •

How do you celebrate Sweetest Day? Or, maybe the bigger question is: Have you ever even HEARD of Sweetest Day? I sure hadn’t – until I came to Ohio for college! Here’s how it went:

One day, little freshman me got a call that there was a delivery waiting. (I was so excited! College kids love getting packages!) So I went down to the mail center in my dorm, and found a can of Orange Crush (which, of course, clearly didn’t fit in my itty-bitty combination-locked mailbox). Ummmm ok …

There was a note: “Happy Sweetest Day! I have a ‘Crush’ on you! From, Matt.” (No, his real name isn’t Matt.)

“What in the heck is Sweetest Day?” was all I could think as I walked back to my dorm room. So I called this nice young man (aka Matt) to thank him for a can of pop and ask what on earth it meant. Matt explained (in his most charming voice) that Sweetest Day is like Valentine’s Day, but not as serious (and he just wanted me to know he cared). Awww … that was really sweet!

Ok, so … Sweetest Day! Who knew?

Let’s fast forward many (many!) years.

Shelley and I are standing in my kitchen, planning out THK recipes for the next few months, and she suggests posting something for Sweetest Day. Well, yeah – nice idea and all – but I point out that not everyone knows what that is.

And … she laughs at me, “It’s a major holiday! Of course everyone knows!” (You see how this is going, right?!?!)

“Ummm … no, no they don’t! It’s totally an Ohio thing – I’d never heard of it until college.”

“Really? No way!”

So right then and there we looked it up and learned more than we’d bargained for (thanks to the epic wisdom of the Internet).

It’s always celebrated on the third Saturday of October, primarily in the Great Lakes region (Ohio, Detroit, Chicago, Buffalo, etc …). It was started in 1921 in Cleveland by a group of 12 candy makers who passed out 20,000 boxes of chocolates to the poor and elderly, in what they called “The Sweetest Day of the Year.”

In the years that followed, there were attempts to have this holiday rank with Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, but it just never quite gained the popularity. Well, unless you live in the Great Lakes region. Then, yes – flowers and candy and cards (and, apparently, even cans of Orange Crush!) are widely accepted on this day!

Or even better: how about a creamy, velvety-smooth peanut butter silk pie? Mmmmmm … luxuriously decadent. Magical even. A perfect way to let someone know you care about them. If only it were good for you …

Hey, don’t worry! We’re here for you with a dip that’s much healthier but just as delicious. No kidding!

You might be wondering if only 4 ingredients and 5 minutes can produce such an extreme level of decadence. Yes, yes, it really does.

In fact, a few nights ago, Shelley’s husband and I stood in two separate kitchens, clear across town from each other, taste-testing this newest creation … and at almost the exact same moment, he and I both exclaimed, “Peanut Butter Silk Pie!”

That seriously happened. Cross my heart.

It’s high praise, too, since Peanut Butter Silk Anything Pie is one of her hubby’s faves. Which is why Shelley totally thought we HAD to post this recipe for Sweetest Day. (Maybe that’ll save her having to buy a card, huh?)

Regardless, if you wanna join us in serving this for Sweetest Day (which is this Saturday, btw), we totally recommend it!

Honestly, though, it’s awesome any day of the year. We’ve dipped apples (supremely fabulous!), as well as pears, bananas and all sorts of other fruit. Pretzels? Rocked that. Smeared on a mini whole-grain bagel? Confirmed yumminess.

I think you get the idea. It’s seriously good … grab whatever’s close at hand and start dipping.

Oh, and one last (but super-important) note. We’ve gotta give props. This recipe isn’t exactly, entirely ours. It was inspired by a topping that Shelley’s daughter made for pancakes. Her daughter has some really fun ideas in the kitchen, and I’m pretty sure this won’t be the last time we spin one of her creations. Two Healthy Kitchens, The Next Generation!

Happy Sweetest Day from our Healthy Kitchens to yours! xoxo