This rich and creamy Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake has an oreo crust topped by a layer of peanut butter cups and a chocolate cheesecake filling. To make it even more decadent, I piped peanut butter frosting around the edges and sprinkled a whole bag of mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in the middle. I couldn’t resist making it look like this cake from Let’s Dish Recipes.
I took most of the cheesecake to my son when I went to visit him at college a few weeks ago. He shared with some friends in his dorm and none of them could believe it was a homemade cheesecake because it tasted like it was from the Cheesecake Factory.
I think that chocolate and peanut butter is the ultimate flavor combination for any type of dessert, but especially cheesecake. I layered about 12 full-sized, whole Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups on the bottom. Talk about yum! Then a bunch of those mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups on top.
When you use one of your favorite candies for a recipe, it’s like you’re already halfway there to creating a fabulous dessert. The creamy chocolate cheesecake filling and peanut butter frosting are really just there to compliment the peanut butter cups.  🙂
This is a peanut butter cup lover’s cheesecake for sure!
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Try These Other Chocolate/Peanut Butter Desserts:
- Peanut Butter Mousse Brownie Pie
- Peanut Butter Mississippi Mud Brownies
- Texas Sheet Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake
Equipment
Ingredients
Crust
- 24 Oreo cookies, finely crushed
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- 12 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
Filling
- 1 (12-ounce) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
Ganache Topping
- 3/4 cup whipping cream
- 1 (12-ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
Peanut Butter Icing
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 to 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 bag mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium bowl stir together oreo crumbs and melted butter.. Press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.Place springform pan on a baking sheet and place in oven for 8 minutes. Set aside.
- To make filling, place chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on HIGH at 20 second intervals until smooth when stirred. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese at medium speed until smooth.
- Add sweetened condensed milk and vanilla and beat on LOW until combined.
- Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating just until combined.
- Beat in melted chocolate just until combined.
- Place peanut butter cups on top of cooled oreo crust.
- Pour batter over peanut butter cups.
- Place in 300 degree oven for 1 hour 5 minutes. Turn oven off and leave cheesecake in oven with door closed for 1 hour.
- Remove cheesecake from oven, run a knife around the edge. Let cool to room temperature and then remove sides of pan. Make ganache and pour on top of cheesecake.
- To make ganache, bring whipping cream to a simmer in a small saucepan. Stir in chocolate chips and remove from heat. Continue to stir until smooth. Let cool slightly before pouring on cheesecake. Refrigerate cheesecake at least 8 hours.
- To make peanut butter frosting, beat cream cheese with electric mixer. Add peanut butter and beat until evenly combined.
- Beat in powdered sugar and enough milk to make it thin enough to pipe.
- Place icing in a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip and swirl around the edges.
- Pile mini Reese's cups in middle of cheesecake
Nutrition
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Originally published March 19, 2016.
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My wife requests this every year for her birthday – it’s delectable and so beautiful every time. Definitely an absolute winner!
This us my family’s new favorite. In fact, my oldest daughter, who is VERY picky has requested it for her birthday which is the highest honor it can receive! 🙂
This is bar none the best cheesecake I have ever made. With other recipes, the whole water bath thing terrified me. Not only is it the best cheesecake I have ever made, it is also virtually foolproof. No cracks and though I have made many different cheesecake over the years for my family, this was their favorite. Thanksgiving will be the second year in a row that this one makes an appearance.
Can you bake it in a water bath? If so does it change the total bake time?
YUM! Came across this recipe on pinterest. Can’t get enough of chocolate these days. LOOKS AMAZING!!
I made this for my son’s 26 birthday and it looks amazing! I will let you know what he thinks…
Hope he loves it and that he has a wonderful birthday Patti!
Step 1 of instructions say to preheat oven to 350 degrees yet step 10 says to bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour 5 mins. What is the correct oven temperature?
I made this cheesecake a few times now. My family loves it. I have tweaked it a bit but nothing major. I left the basic ingedients alone…except I added two heaping tbsp of peanut butter to the batter. I also didn’t put the peanut butter cups at the buttom of the crust. I chopped them up and added them to the batter. Oh and I found peanut butter oreos so I used those for the crust. It comes out so yummy evert time.
Oh wow! I’m going to have to try making the crust with the peanut butter oreos. That is such a great idea Crystal!
Luscious, decitant, over-the-top delicious. A must for the chocolate peanut butter lover.
This looks amazing! Planning to make it for my husband’s birthday. When you said to put in the oven at 300 for 1 hour 5 minutes, is that in addition to the one hour when you turn the oven off? Or is it 5 minutes with the oven on and then 1 hour with the oven off. Thank you, and also thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
WOW. What a cake. Reece’s Pieces are my ultimate favourite chocolate – so this cheesecake is a must make for me!
Oh wow that looks incredibly decadent and delicious! The cheesecake looks so creamy and chocolaty, and all those toppings too? Sign me up! 🙂
This is the ultimate combination!! My husband will kill for this.
That dessert is some kind of decadent! I think my family would love it!
I had major plans to go to the Cheesecake Factory and get just this cheesecake (the reese’s one!) for my birthday- seriously, it’s so epic and a childhood through present favorite of mine. But I think I’m going to make this instead! So yum 🙂 Pinning!
Ok, hold everything. I just want to face plant right into this cheesecake. It’s like you took everything on Earth I love and combined it into one dessert!