Friday, December 25, 2009

REESES PEANUT BUTTER CUP CHEESECAKE

Wow, I've been making a ton of cheesecakes lately. There's nothing like digging your fork into a cold, creamy cheesecake with a crunchy crust. It's official, cheesecake is by far my most favorite dessert. I love to make them and I love eating them even more!

My boyfriends brother celebrated a birthday a few weeks ago and rather than baking your traditional classic birthday cake, I went with a Reeses peanut butter birthday cheesecake. This cheesecake was unreal. The peanut butter flavor wasn't overly strong and the Oreo cookie crust made for a perfect cheesecake foundation. The chocolate ganache layer on top really put this cheesecake over the edge as my most favorite cheesecake, to date.
This recipe fills is designed to fill a 10 inch springform pan, however, I only had a 9 inch so I had some extra batter leftover which I used to make mini peanut butter cup cheesecakes. Since my boyfriends family are die-hard Tennessee Volunteer fans, I stuck these cute little Vols picks in each mini. They were a huge hit.

Please note that you should plan a day ahead when making this cheesecake. It requires a lot of chilling time and I always find that leaving a cheesecake to chill in the fridge overnight produces the best results.

For The Crust

For The Filling

For The Topping

5 ounces milk chocolate chips
1/4 c. sour cream
  1. Please Note****Plan ahead--cheesecake needs to chill for at least 4 hours.
  2. To Make The Crust:.
  3. Combine crushed Oreo cookies and peanuts that have been ground in a food processor with the melted butter.
  4. Pat the crust mixture onto bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan.
  5. To Make The Filling:.
  6. Beat cream cheese in bowl of electric mixer until smooth.
  7. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  8. Add sugar, peanut butter and cream; mix until smooth.
  9. Stir in vanilla, then fold in peanut butter cup pieces with a rubber spatula.
  10. Pour filling into prepared crust.
  11. Place springform pan into a larger baking pan.
  12. Pour hot water into the larger pan so that the water comes 1 inch up the sides of the springform pan.
  13. Bake at 275°F 1-1/2 hours, or until firm and lightly browned.'
  14. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for one hour
  15. you may run a knife along the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan somewhat.
  16. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours (overnight is your best bet)
  17. For The Topping:.
  18. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate and sour cream, stirring constantly. Spread over cheesecake and return it to the refrigerator to set up.

5 comments:

cookies and cups said...

That sounds amazing!

Tia said...

wow. what a stunner!

Anonymous said...

This cheesecake looks so good! I want to take the mini ones to a gathering and I am wondering about the chocolate topping you used. Is it the chocolate-sour cream mixture piped on or something else? Thank you!

Lisa

White Toast with Butter said...

OMG - I am so making this. It looks absolutely spectacular!

Jenny

brian said...

yummy i love reeses peanut butter cups. I Love peanut butter!
YUM!