Rich and decadent, this Reese’s Peanut Butter Cheesecake Recipe starts with a cookie crust, is filled with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, then topped with a chocolate ganache and even more peanut butter cups.
Sometimes, I just can’t get cheesecake off the brain. I adore cheesecake, but I don’t often have an excuse to make a whole cheesecake. But sometimes you just have to make an excuse, right?? Well, when I decided to make a peanut butter cheesecake, I knew I wanted to go all out. I didn’t want a 1-inch cheesecake. I wanted this baby tall and rich and creamy and packed with so much peanut butter and chocolate that it would cure any peanut butter craving. And that is exactly what I ended up with! This peanut butter cheesecake is rich and decadent and totally celebration worthy. It really might be my favorite cheesecake!
A few hints – make sure you wrap the springform pan tightly with foil so that the water doesn’t leak in. (More on this below!) I used to never have problems with water leaking, but I’ve ruined a couple cheesecakes lately because of leaks. And believe me – this is one cheesecake you don’t want to ruin!!
Leaving the cheesecake in the oven to gradually cool it down helps to reduce the risk of the cheesecake cracking. But since this cheesecake is covered with a ganache, if your cheesecake does crack, it’s no big deal. You’ll be the only one that will know!!
And because this is such a tall cheesecake, it does take some time to bake through. I always worry about overbaking, but could have left mine in a few minutes longer. But I do love how creamy it turned out!!
This will be the perfect dessert to take to your next holiday get together!!
Tips for making this Reese’s Peanut Butter Cheesecake Recipe
Here are a few tips to ensure that your cheesecake comes out perfectly:
- Make sure all of your ingredients are room temperature – not just the cream cheese. Set them all out about 30 minutes before you are going to start the recipe.
- Don’t overmix. Overmixing will add too much air to the batter, which means your cheesecake will fall and you’ll be left with a big crack in the top of your cheesecake.
- A water bath makes a big difference! Read more about this below.
- Make sure to chill the cheesecake thoroughly.
How to Bake a Cheesecake in a Water Bath
A water bath can be a little controversial. Many cheesecakes have been ruined by leaking pans. So here are a few tips to make sure that pan is wrapped well so that you won’t end up with leaks.
- Wrap the pan in a double layer of aluminum foil. Make sure to go high up enough on the sides so that the water can’t sneak in through the top.
- Make sure the foil is wrapped tightly to the pan on the bottom.
- I like to place the filled springform pan into the larger pan, and then place those in the oven before adding the hot water. That way water won’t splash up while you are transferring the pan to the oven.
- If water leaking into your pan is a common occurrence, it may be your springform pan. Make sure it is tight fitting, and if all else fails, buy a new pan.
- I have heard of many people having luck skipping the water bath and just adding a pan of water to the rack in the oven below the cheesecake. I have tried this, and while it does help some, I don’t think it has quite the same effect that the actual water bath does. Besides preventing cracks, the water bath also helps the cheesecake to cook more even, and I think that the pan below doesn’t really help with this. But if not worrying about the water leaking is your biggest concern, this is definitely an option!
More Cheesecake Recipes
Lemon Cheesecake
Mini Cheesecakes
Dulce de Leche cheesecake
Sour Cream Cheesecake
No-Bake Nutella Cheesecake
Snickers Cheesecake
LOOKING FOR MORE FREE RECIPES?
Subscribe to my free recipe newsletter to get new family friendly recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing more family-friendly inspiration on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram.
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust:
- 30 chocolate sandwich cookies
- 6 tablespoons butter melted
- Dash of salt
Cheesecake:
- 32 oz cream cheese softened
- 5 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup smooth peanut butter
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 12 oz Reese’s Peanut Butter miniature cups unwrapped and roughly chopped
Topping:
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 8 oz package Reese’s Minis
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Put the chocolate sandwich cookies in a food processor and process until they form fine crumbs. Add in the butter and salt and process to combine. Press the mixture into the bottom and halfway up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes, then set aside to cool. Wrap aluminum foil around the sides and the bottom of the springform pan.
- Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl in between each addition. Add in the brown sugar, peanut butter, cream and vanilla; beat until combined. Gently fold in the chopped up Reese’s Miniatures. Pour the mixture into the cooled crust.
- Place the pan inside a larger pan and carefully add about 1 inch of hot water in the larger pan. Bake the cheesecake until it is just set, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Turn off the oven and allow the temperature to come down gently for about an hour. Remove from the oven, cool completely, then refrigerate until completely cool.
- To make the chocolate topping, heat the cream until simmering, just before boiling. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate chips. Allow the mixture to sit for a couple minutes, then stir until smooth. Pour over the top of the cheesecake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Sprinkle the Reese’s minis over the top of the cheesecake.
Tangible says
OK…it was a hit!!! I’d share a photo here if I could. I had to freeze almost half…we shall enjoy it more next week! Yum!! GREAT RECIPE!!!
Tangible says
I just made this today..it’s for Father’s Day for my hubby, dad, brother in law, and niece’s hubby….a family get together…and I cannot wait to try it. I will post back once I get the reviews. I will say that I could not fit the last 1/2-3/4 of batter in my springform..lol…and it’s 9″….I almost opted for 4 eggs..they were large..but they seemed huge (that could be it). Anyway…the water bath did make it bake perfectly even without cracking.
Thanks for sharing!
Deborah says
I hope you love it, as well as all of the fathers!! And I’m not sure why it didn’t all fit in. Maybe my pan has taller edges????
debbie says
What type of cream do u use?
Deborah says
I used heavy whipping cream.
Sebastian Andreassen says
where is the recipe ? I can’t see it on this page?
Deborah says
Hi Sebastian – have you scrolled down on the page? I am able to see it. It is below the picture with the slice of the cheesecake.
Rebekah says
I made this but I didn’t bake it right away (my family went on a day and half trip). Do you think its still good?
Deborah says
Did you refrigerate it? If so, it’s worth a shot to try to bake it. I’ve never tried anything like that, but I’d try that before throwing it out!
Rebekah says
yep I refrierated it. It still tasted delicious!
sarah says
SORRY, I just read another bloggers question above. Just so happened to be a “Sarah” as well. :p I am assuming the door needs to stay shut otherwise you would have specified.
sarah says
Is heavy whipping cream ok? When you leave the cheesecake in the oven to cool for one hour do you open the oven door or leave it shut?
Deborah says
Yep – heavy whipping cream will work. And I keep the door closed. 🙂
Kat says
I made this for Easter. SO. GOOD. Oh my gosh! And my whole family thought it was divine. If someone doesn’t like this, but knows they’d like a Reeses chocolate cheesecake, they must have somehow failed, because this thing is absolutely amazing. Very decadent, but amazing.
I also had to add about 15 minutes to my bake time (saw previous comment). I looked up some recommendations for when a cheesecake is “set” (I’d never made a cheesecake before)… So, slightly browning around the edges and a bit jiggly in the center…. But it came out perfectly. I also opened the oven for a couple minutes, then just left it cracked a bit because I didn’t want it to keep cooking. I also used milk chocolate chips for the ganache instead of semi-sweet, because we just like milk chocolate, and it was still fabulous. This thing is something you’d find in an awesome restaurant or something. Will totally make this again, and I’m also going to check out your other recipes now =)
Deborah says
Thank you so much – you just made my whole night!!
Danielle says
Great Recipe— it’s just a little vague. extra emphasis on the tinfoil, the first one i made without tinfoil leaked and was disgusting. though- adding the tinfoil turned out to be the secret i didn’t know was that important!
Deborah says
Yes – I always use foil when I do a cheesecake. I never trust the springform pans! Glad the second one worked out for you!
Jo says
How tall is this cheesecake? I have a 9′ springform but I’m not sure if it’s deep enough?!
Deborah says
Sorry – just seeing your comment! If you have a standard 9″ springform pan, it should be fine. It’s taller than a typical cheesecake, but will still fit in a standard springform pan.
Tori says
Do you have to use a springform pan? Can you use a cake pan?
Deborah says
I haven’t tried using a cake pan, but I don’t think it would work for this recipe because the sides of a cake pan aren’t tall enough for this cheesecake. This is a pretty tall cheesecake. 🙂
Laura says
This recipe is amazing! I tried it out the other day, and it turned out perfectly (I added 15 minutes to my bake time). Just wondering, is this recipe versatile? Could I replace the peanut butter with chocolate and have the same outcome? Thanks again, you have made both me and my roommates happy with this recipe!
Deborah says
I’m so glad you liked it!! I probably wouldn’t recommend replacing the peanut butter with chocolate since they have different textures.
Paula says
costly failure
Deborah says
I’m sorry it didn’t work for you. I have had some great feedback on it, so I’d like to help troubleshoot what happened if you want to let me know what was wrong with it.
Stuart says
I made this today and it is amazing.
Deborah says
I’m so glad you loved it!!
HEather says
If you were to make a graham cracker crust…can you give the recipe (amounts) for that?
Deborah says
I haven’t tried it with a regular graham cracker crust, but I’m sure it would work with any crust that fits in a 9-inch springform pan.
Sarah says
Hi! This looks amazing and I want to give it a shot! I’m not much of a baker, so what exactly do you mean by letting this cool in the oven? Like, when the 1hr15min is up, leave the cake in the oven with the heat turned off? I don’t want to burn anything haha thanks!
Deborah says
Hi Sarah,
you’ll just turn the oven off and let the cheesecake sit in the oven as it cools. That way the cheesecake cools very slowly.
yenta1957 says
This looks amazing! Made an almond cheesecake + my family claimed that was their favorite. Then made an eggnog cheesecake + they said no…that was their favorite. Last time I tried an Oreo cheesecake + they said ” forget the others…this is the absolute best”.
I guarantee that when I make this 1, they’ll say “This is our favorite”…….providing I don’t screw it up.
Deborah says
Haha – I hope it becomes their favorite, too!! And now you have me craving cheesecake!