Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake

Chunks of Reese's peanut butter cups in the creamy peanut butter cheesecake with a thick layer of delicious dark chocolate ganache and peanut butter drizzle on top.

From Baking With Ramen

Yield: 12 servings

Time: 2 hours, plus overnight to chill

Ingredients

For the Crust:

20 Oreo cookies (or chocolate wafers)

4 tablespoons butter, melted

For the Cheesecake:

32 ounces (4 packages) cream cheese, at room temp

5 eggs at room temperature

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup peanut butter (NOT low-fat or natural)

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 cups mini peanut butter cups

For the Topping:

6 ounces (2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream, plus an additional 1 tablespoon

1/2 cup peanut butter (NOT low-fat or natural)

20 mini peanut butter cups

Directions

For the Crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9-inch springform pan. Finely crush Oreos and melted butter in a food processor until well-blended. Press crumbs evenly onto the bottom (not sides) of prepared pan. Bake just until set, about 5 minutes. Cool while preparing the filling. Maintain oven temperature.

For the Cheesecake:

2. Take your room-temperature cream cheese and beat just until it becomes smooth, and then stop. Do not overbeat. Add eggs one at a time, beating until just incorporated.

3. Add brown sugar, peanut butter, and heavy cream. Beat until just smooth, then add vanilla. Mix for a couple strokes, then stop.

4. Pour half of the cheesecake mixture into the springform pan. Layer with 2 cups of the mini peanut butter cups, then top off with the remaining cheesecake mixture.

5. Turn the oven down to 325 degrees F. Bake for 1.5 hours. Do not open the oven door at any point during the baking process, or else huge cracks will form on the cheesecake surface. To tell if the cheesecake is finished, wiggle it a bit. The sides should be firm, but the middle may be slightly jiggly. Do not use a toothpick to test for done-ness, because it doesn’t really work.

6. Cover the cheesecake springform pan with foil and refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 hours if you’re in a rush.

For the Topping:

7. Heat 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream and 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Cool slightly before pouring over the center of the cheesecake (while still in springform pan).

8. Place about 20 mini peanut butter cups along the perimeter of the cheesecake. Cover the cheesecake with foil and chill for another 30 – 60 minutes until the chocolate is set (not wet to the touch).

9. Once the chocolate is set, take the cheesecake out of the refrigerator. Microwave peanut butter and 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream in 10-second intervals until you achieve a runny consistency, stirring between each interval (should take less than 1 minute).

10. Place in a piping bag (or place inside a plastic bag with the corner tip cut off), and pipe a swirl onto top of the chocolate ganache. Serve & enjoy!