If you’re a fan of peanut butter, then you must make this peanut butter flavored cheesecake! Loaded with nutty peanut flavor that’s balanced with the semi-sweet chocolate ganache, it’s a classic flavor combination that everyone will love.
The filling is velvety smooth and will practically melt in your mouth. Even better, I top my cheesecake with chopped peanut butter cups making each bite jam-packed with peanut butter flavor!
While there are a few components to this cheesecake, it’s worth the effort to make. Make sure you budget enough time, as there’s no rushing a cheesecake. Want another tasty cheesecake? Try my strawberry cheesecake recipe, blueberry cheesecake recipe, or chocolate cheesecake recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Chocolate sandwich cookies — the crust recipe uses about a whole 15.35oz package of Oreos. You can use regular or double-stuffed Oreos. You can use graham crackers if you’re not a fan of chocolate sandwich cookies.
Butter — to help the crust hold together, you’ll need melted butter. Make sure to buy unsalted butter to keep the crust from tasting salty.
Cream cheese — for the cheesecake batter, I recommend using full-fat cream cheese for the best flavor. Do not buy the spreadable type from a tub. Cold cream cheese will lead to a lumpy batter so always bring the cream cheese to room temperature beforehand.
Sour cream — to make the cheesecake filling soft, moist, and tender, you’ll need full-fat sour cream. It also provides a nice tangy flavor to the cheesecake. If you forgot to pick some sour cream up, try making my homemade sour cream with only three ingredients.
Peanut butter — make sure you buy creamy and not chunky peanut butter. I don’t recommend using natural peanut butter for the filling, as it’ll be too runny for the cheesecake filling.
Eggs — eggs help make the filling smooth and give it a rich texture.
Heavy whipping cream — you’ll need heavy whipping cream to add moisture and soften the texture of the cheesecake. It’ll also be the base of the ganache.
Chocolate — I recommend using high-quality pure chocolate baking bars for the chocolate ganache as they melt smoother than chocolate chips.
How to Make Peanut Butter Cheesecake
1. In a food processor, process the sandwich cookies and sugar until finely ground, about 30 seconds.
2. Place in a medium mixing bowl, and stir in the melted butter until well combined. Press into the bottom and about 1½ inches up the side of a 9-inch springform pan covered with aluminum foil. Refrigerate while preparing the filling, or at least 30 minutes.
3. In the stand mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and sour cream. Beat on medium-low speed until smooth and creamy, then add the peanut butter.
4. Next, add the sugar and salt. Beat until combined.
5. With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
6. Slowly pour in the cream and vanilla until fully combined. Pour the filling into the chilled crust, spreading into an even layer.
7. Place the pan in a large roasting pan and on the lower third oven rack. Carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan until it reaches about 1 inch deep. Bake for 1 to 1½ hours. Turn off the oven, and crack the door open. Let the cheesecake cool in the oven for 1 hour. Remove the cheesecake from the roasting pan and discard the foil. Refrigerate the cheesecake, uncovered, for at least 4 to 24 hours.
8. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium mixing bowl. In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the cream on HIGH until it just starts to bubble, about 1 minute. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let stand without stirring for 10 minutes. Stir in slow circles until the chocolate is fully melted and the ganache is smooth.
9. Pour the ganache over the chilled cheesecake, spreading gently to the edges and allowing the ganache to drip down the sides.
10. Garnish the peanut butter cheesecake with chopped Reese’s peanut butter cups. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- Do not overmix the peanut butter cheesecake batter, as it will introduce too much air to the batter. Air in the batter leads to the cheesecake rising too much in the oven and collapsing in the middle.
- The best way to avoid overmixing is to bring your cold ingredients, such as eggs, sour cream, and cream cheese, to room temperature. Doing so will ensure they will easily incorporate into the batter without overmixing.
- When you pour the cheesecake batter into the pan, gently tap the pan on the counter to pop any air bubbles in the batter.
- Make sure the exterior of the pan is tightly wrapped with foil, so the water from the water bath does not leak into the cheesecake.
- For the garnish, I used the Unwrapped Reese’s mini to save time on unwrapping all the peanut butter cups! Alternatively, leave them off or top the cheesecake with roasted peanuts or whipped cream.
Frequently Asked Questions
A water bath, also known as a bain marie, helps the cheesecake bake gently, slowly, and evenly as the water in the pan will never get hotter than 212 degrees, which prevents cracks on the surface of the cheesecake. It also ensures a creamy, smooth, and even texture.
If you don’t have a large roasting pan or a baking dish large enough to hold the wrapped pan and water, you can use my alternate method! Skip wrapping the pan in foil and place one oven rack in the bottom position and one in the middle. When ready to bake, place a casserole dish on the bottom rack of the oven and fill halfway with water. Place the cheesecake pan directly on the middle rack above the casserole dish. Bake as directed. This method still creates a steamy environment for the cheesecake without direct immersion in a water bath. On the off chance your cheesecake ends up cracking, don’t fret! You can cover it with ganache, and it will still taste just as delicious.
To prevent cracks on your peanut butter flavored cheesecake, avoid overmixing the batter or mixing it at too high a speed. If you overmix, you create air bubbles that will rise to the surface as it bakes and turn into cracks, or the cheesecake will rise too much and crack as it deflates. Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature so they can combine effortlessly without overmixing. Stop mixing once all the ingredients are incorporated. Also, make sure you do not immediately remove the cheesecake from the oven. The quick temperature change will cool the cheesecake too quickly, causing it to crack. Make sure to get the cheesecake cool in the oven before removing it! However, not to worry if your cheesecake cracks, as the ganache will cover it!
If you have a cake dome, that’s a great way to store the PB cheesecake in the fridge. The cheesecake can be loosely covered with plastic and refrigerated for up to 5 days.
You can! Once the cheesecake has cooled, you can freeze it whole or in slices. Wrap the cheesecake in multiple layers of plastic wrap before transferring it to a freezer-safe bag or container to prevent freezer burn.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this Peanut Butter Cheesecake recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Peanut Butter Cheesecake
Video
Equipment
- 9″ Springform pan
- Foil
- Roasting pan
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 30 chocolate sandwich cookies (Oreo’s)
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter melted (75ml)
For the Filling:
- 4 (8-ounce/227g) packages cream cheese room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream room temperature (120g)
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter (259g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- ⅔ cup heavy whipping cream (160ml)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Ganache Topping:
- 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chopped (85g)
- ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream (80ml)
Instructions
- Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Tightly wrap the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with aluminum foil. Lightly spray the inside of the pan with cooking spray.
For the Crust:
- In a food processor, process the sandwich cookies and sugar until finely ground, about 30 seconds. Place in a medium mixing bowl, and stir in the melted butter until well combined. Press into the bottom and about 1½ inches up the side of the pan. Refrigerate while preparing the filling, or at least 30 minutes.
For the Filling:
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and sour cream. Beat on medium-low speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the peanut butter, sugar, and salt. Beat until combined, about 30 seconds. With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stop and scrape down the bowl occasionally during mixing. Slowly pour in the cream and vanilla until fully combined. Pour the filling into the chilled crust, spreading into an even layer.
- Bring about 8 cups of water to a boil.
- Place the pan in a large roasting pan and on the lower third oven rack. Carefully pour the boiling water into the roasting pan until it reaches about 1 inch deep.
- Bake for 1 to 1 ½ hours or until the filling starts to pull away from the sides of the pan and jiggles like jello when gently shaken. Loosely cover with foil after 45 minutes to prevent over-browning if necessary. Turn off the oven, and crack the door open. Let the cheesecake cool in the oven, for 1 hour. Remove the cheesecake from the roasting pan and discard the foil. Refrigerate the cheesecake, uncovered, for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
- When ready to top, run a thin knife around the outside of the cheesecake to loosen the sides from the pan. Release the spring and transfer the cheesecake to a serving plate or cake stand.
For the Ganache Topping:
- Place the chopped chocolate in a medium mixing bowl. In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the cream on HIGH until it just starts to bubble, about 1 minute. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let stand without stirring for 10 minutes.
- Stir in slow circles until the chocolate is fully melted and the ganache is smooth. Pour the ganache over the chilled cheesecake, spreading gently to the edges and allowing the ganache to drip down the sides. Garnish with chopped peanut butter cups. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. The cheesecake can be loosely covered and refrigerated for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Do not overmix the cheesecake batter, as it will introduce too much air to the batter. Air in the batter leads to the cheesecake rising too much in the oven and collapsing in the middle.
- The best way to avoid overmixing is to bring your cold ingredients, such as eggs, sour cream, and cream cheese, to room temperature. Doing so will ensure they will easily incorporate into the batter without overmixing.
- When you pour the cheesecake batter into the pan, gently tap the pan on the counter to pop any air bubbles in the batter.
- Make sure the exterior of the pan is tightly wrapped with foil, so the water from the water bath does not leak into the cheesecake.
- For the garnish, I used the Unwrapped Reese’s mini to save time on unwrapping all the peanut butter cups! Alternatively, leave them off or top the cheesecake with roasted peanuts or whipped cream.
