Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Like a gigantic tangy amazing peanut butter cup. Just incredible.
Texture: The crust is buttery yet crunchy while the filling is lusciously smooth with bites of mini Reese’s cups. The chocolate ganache and pile of mini Reese’s on top just takes this cheesecake to a ridiculously awesome level.
Ease: There’s three elements to this cheesecake, each of which will dirty a few dishes. SO worth it, promise! I didn’t even both with a water bath for this recipe because it doesn’t matter if it cracks, you’re just going to dump a bunch of chocolate on top.
Appearance: This was seriously so fun to photograph, it’s gorgeous!
Pros: My new favorite cheesecake ever.
Cons: Not diet friendly, unfortunately.
Would I make this again? Absolutely yes for special occasions!
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
I am ridiculously excited to share today’s outrageously over the top recipe for Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake with you guys. It’s seriously incredible. Just look at it!! It’s like a piece of art, a very delicious crave-worthy piece of art. You are going to flip when you take your first bite of this, and your friends will die when you show up to the next party with this in your hands. There’s nothing I love more in the world than the combination of chocolate and peanut butter so this cheesecake is pure bliss for me.
What food is pure bliss for you?
Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 30 (1-15.35 ounce package) Oreo cookies
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
For the cheesecake filling:
- 32 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 5 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups lightly packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 8 ounces Reese’s minis
For the topping:
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 8 ounces Reese’s minis
Instructions
For the crust:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. In the bowl of a food processor, process the cookies until they are finely ground crumbs. Add the butter and pulse until moistened. Press into the bottom and halfway up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool.
For the filling:
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth. Add in the sugar, peanut butter, cream, and vanilla and beat until combined. Be careful not to overbeat. Stir in the Reese’s.
- Pour the batter into the cooled crust. Bake for about 1 hour, or until set and the top looks slightly dry. If the middle is slightly wobbly, that’s fine. Cool the cheesecake completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 4 hours. Release the cheesecake from the pan onto a cake stand or serving plate.
For the topping:
- Place the chocolate chips in a medium heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan heat the cream just until simmering. Pour over the chocolate chips. Let sit for 3 minutes before stirring until the mixture is melted and smooth. Pour over the cheesecake, allowing to drip down the sides. Sprinkle the Reese’s over the cheesecake. Serve or cover and store in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Hey! Quick question for you. I absolutely loved all of your recipes, they are amazing! I’m super excited to try this one. We had a peanut butter cup blind tasting at work because we all love them so this is going to be great to bring in. I usually make the cake the day before eating it though so that the crust is nice and crisp. This week I might not be able to do that, do you think it will still be nice and crispy if I make it 2 days in advance? Thanks!!
Hi Kayla! Yes, that should be just fine. By the second day, the crust will soften slightly, but it will still be delicious. Let us know how it goes 🙂
I knew by the picture that this was the recipe I wanted to use and fingers crossed it was going to turn out as pictured and sure enough the instructions were written well, the amounts of every ingredient was spot on.
Served it to a party of eight, everyone loved it, and sent dessert home with guests and still had leftovers for the freezer for us. I changed the heavy cream to sour cream, and chose not to bake the crust, and for the reeses cups on top, I had only 4-ounces of miniature dark chocolate Reese’s that I cut them in half and it was just enough for me. This is a very rich cheesecake, and a keeper!
what if you used M&M’s peanut butter instead of Reeses would it be ok?
Hi Ed! The M&Ms might be best just on top for decoration, as the slow, long bake of a cheesecake might cause any M&Ms inside to leak their color and discolor the cheesecake strangely around each M&M. If you don’t mind that splotchy discoloration in your cheesecake slices, and just prefer the flavor of M&Ms over Reese’s, then go for it! Let us know what you think once you’ve given this a try! Happy baking 🙂
Bake for an hour at what temp?
I make a lot of cheesecakes that use Oreo cookies for the crust. I learned early on that baking the crust only and then baking the cheesecake makes the crust so hard it’s difficult to cut with a fork. I always bake my graham cracker crusts for 8-10 minutes at 350, but for my Oreo cookie crusts, I freeze them for 25-30 minutes. I add the batter to the frozen crust right out of the freezer, and immediately into the oven. Just a suggestion that has worked for me.
I made this recipe last month and followed the directions. However, the cheesecake consistency was off. It was almost like pudding. Should i bake for a longer time next time i make it? Not sure what I’m doing wrong. On another note the flavors were delicious!
For the filling, do you leave the Reese’s cups whole or cut in half?
Hi Tessa, I have cooked this recipe multiple times — it is now officially award-winning! Last week, I baked it and my daughter decorated it. My wife then brought it to her office and entered it in a very competitive holiday cooking competition at her workplace. And it won! Thank you for this fantastic cake!
The version I make is really a combination of this and your ultimate cheesecake — I cook it in a water bath, with sour cream instead of heavy cream, and for the crust chocolate graham crackers instead of Oreos.