Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Ingredients for Peanut Butter Cheesecake

• Pretzels: Crushed pretzels form the crumb crust for this pie, a salty base that highlights the sweetness of the filling.
• Butter: A small amount of melted butter helps bind the pretzel crumbs together into a more cohesive crust.
• Cream cheese: The hero ingredient of this peanut butter cheesecake recipe, cream cheese is the base for the cheesecake’s tangy flavor and smooth texture. There’s a lot of it, and it needs to be softened to room temperature before being combined with the other ingredients.
• Sugar: Though it’s not a terribly sweet dessert, some granulated sugar sweetens the cheesecake filling and topping.
• Peanut butter: Use creamy peanut butter for this cheesecake. You can also use natural creamy peanut butter, as long as you mix it well before measuring and adding it to the filling and topping.
• Vanilla extract: A splash of vanilla adds dimension to this otherwise very peanut-focused cheesecake base.
• Eggs:  Three lightly beaten eggs help the cream cheese filling set as it bakes in the oven.
• Peanut butter and chocolate chips: We like to fold a combination of peanut and chocolate baking chips into the peanut butter filling base. You can omit them, if you like, or just use one or the other.
• Sour cream: A finishing layer of rich sour cream, slightly sweetened, crowns the cheesecake.
• Chopped peanuts: The craggy layer of crunchy, chopped peanuts crowning this dessert make it unmistakably clear that it’s a peanut butter cheesecake.

Directions

Step 1: Make the pretzel crust

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In a small bowl, combine the pretzels and butter. Press the mixture onto the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a greased 10 inch springform pan. Place the pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for five minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Test Kitchen Tip: Crush the pretzels in a bag using a rolling pin, in a food processor or a high-powered blender. The crumbs should be  fine in texture.

Step 2: Make the filling

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In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the peanut butter and vanilla; mix well. Add the eggs and beat on low just until combined. Stir in the chips and pour it over the crust. Return the pan to the baking sheet.

Step 3: Bake the cheesecake

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Bake at 350° for 50 to 55 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove it from the oven and let it stand for 15 minutes (leave the oven on).

Step 4: Mix the toppings

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In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, peanut butter and sugar and spread it over the filling. Sprinkle it with nuts. Bake for five minutes longer.

Step 5: Cool and remove pan

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Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cheesecake and cool it for one hour longer. Refrigerate it overnight, then remove the sides of pan.

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Recipe Variations

• Change out the crust: Use Oreos, chocolate wafer cookies, vanilla cookies, peanut butter sandwich cookies or graham cracker crumbs to make the crust instead.
• Top it with ganache: Skip the topping ingredients and make chocolate ganache instead. Make a peanut butter ganache-style topping by melting peanut butter and white chocolate chips together. Pour or spread either onto the baked and cooled cheesecake.
• Add whip: You could also top it with whipped cream or whipped topping and chopped peanut butter cup candies. Spread either a full layer or place individual dollops on each slice.

How to Store Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Store any leftover cheesecake slices in the refrigerator. These you can eat while they’re still cold or let them warm closer to room temperature for a softer texture.

Can you make peanut butter cheesecake ahead of time?

Absolutely. You can make and assemble the crust and filling in advance and refrigerate the cheesecake, well wrapped, for about three to four days. You can also make it ahead of time and freeze it for up to month wrapped well in plastic. Before serving, defrost the cheesecake in the refrigerator for a day.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Tips

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What’s the difference between peanut butter cheesecake and peanut butter pie?

Both have a creamy peanut butter filling and a crumb crust, but peanut butter cream pie has a no-bake filling made with cream cheese, sugar and milk, all stabilized with whipped topping. In contrast, this peanut butter cheesecake recipe contains eggs, which help the peanut butter cream mixture set once it’s baked.

How do you fix lumpy cheesecake filling?

To make the smoothest cheesecake, soften the cream cheese to about room temperature before mixing. Beat it in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium-low speed or with a hand mixer before adding the sugar, peanut butter and vanilla.  If the cream cheese base isn’t softened and blended first, the batter can have lumps that remain in the cake once its baked.

How do you prevent a cheesecake from cracking?

Cracks form when a cheesecake undergoes temperature changes quickly, or when it overbakes long enough that it loses moisture. While cracks affect the appearance of your cake, they won’t actually affect the taste very much. Prevent cracking by not over-baking it and by allowing it adequate time to cool on the counter before refrigerating it.