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
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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.
Betty says
The recipe calls for ‘Cream’. Is that heavy whipping cream?
Deborah says
Yep – heavy whipping cream.
Andrea says
My sister requested this for her birthday next week. It’ll be my first cheesecake attempt! Two questions:
1) What is the texture like? Is it firm and dense? Or a softer, fluffy cheesecake? The picture of the slice look a little gooey.
2) What size eggs do you use?
Thanks!
Deborah says
It is a more dense cheesecake. Mine was a little gooey – I needed to bake it a few minutes longer, but it was still more on the dense side versus the fluffy side. And I always use large eggs. Hope you both love it – it is one of the most loved recipes here!
Susan B. says
This dessert was over the top delicious! I was a tiny bit worried after reading the comments, and seeing that some did not have success with this recipe, but I followed the directions, and left the cheesecake in the over longer than stated in the instructions. While baking, I waited for the cake to firm up, but I found it did not do that until it had cooled overnight in the fridge. I will make this amazing cheesecake again and again!
Eric says
Ok, so I’m currently baking the cheesecake. Only question I have is: I used a graham cracker crust due to not being a huge fan of oreo cookies, and I have a metric tonne of batter left over. I’ve covered it up and placed it in the fridge for now. Will it be ok to use it in the next couple of days with more pie crusts?
Looking forward to it regardless 😀
Charlotte says
Is that the correct amount of cream cheese?? Seems a lot! Making for Easter and wanted to know!
Deborah says
Yep, it’s right – it’s a big cheesecake. 🙂
Charlotte says
Thanks Deborah!
Jennifer says
Wonderful recipe! My husband is peanut butter lover and this was a hit and it was good for me (I am not a big fan of peanut butter). I sadly didn’t wrap the pan tight enough with foil and a little bit of water seeped in, but not enough to keep us from eating on it lol!!
Deborah says
I’m so glad you both liked it!! It is sometimes a pain to keep the water from seeping in. I think a traditional water bath (like this one) makes for the best texture, but I have started just placing a pan of water on the oven rack below the cheesecake. It’s almost as good, and you don’t have to worry about any leaking!!
Amy says
Hello,
I just wanted to thank you for this amazing recipe! My friends and family all love it! I made it last year for a dessert auction fundraiser and this year everybody wanted me to make it again so I am. I don’t get a chance to bake much anymore, even though I love it. (I’m just too busy.) I always enjoy making this cheesecake and it tastes amazing. Mine always cracks (No matter how hard I try) but luckily the chocolate topping save it! Thank you so much!
Deborah says
I’m so glad that you love it so much, and have been able to make it multiple times. That makes me so happy!
Isha says
Hi there! I’ve made this cheesecake once before and got rave reviews! I’m going to make it again for my staff Christmas party potluck. The last time I made this cheesecake I had guests over at my home so I was able to take the sides of my springform pan off to put the topping on. This time, since I will be taking the cake to the party I’m wondering if you put the topping on with the sides of the pan on or off? Trying to make travelling with this cake as easy as possible! Thanks again for the fantastic recipe!
Deborah says
If it’s not too much of a pain, I would put on the topping with the sides off. It may not be as easy to transport, but if you have a sturdy plate to put it on, it will probably look better with the topping on without the sides of the pan. But if you are more worried about traveling, you could definitely leave the sides on – the topping just wouldn’t drip down the sides.
Andy says
My only (albeit huge) disappointment was that I tried to make this for an event and put my faith in the “total time”. Having not made a cheesecake before and then realizing the hour to cool in the oven AND the time it needed in the fridge were not included. There is no way this will finish in time for my event. Kinda hoping it turns out terrible since no one will get to try it.
Deborah says
I apologize – the technology that I use to input my recipes doesn’t let you change the total time. In general, though, I always advise to read through the recipe completely before starting. Many times, there are issues like this that will pop up. I hope you still enjoyed the cheesecake!
Angela says
Made this for Thanksgiving as my husband loves Reese’s cups. I was nervous because I usually don’t do new recipes for holidays, but it turned out great! Added about 10-15 to the cooking time and left the candy off the top as it seemed sweet enough. Big hit with all my PB and cheesecake fans! Thanks for the great recipe!
Deborah says
Yay – I’m so glad you all loved it!
Natalie says
Devine! I made this last Christmas and my family was in heaven. It was ALOT of cheesecake though. I think I am going to try halving the recipe and using a 6″ springform as one of your other posters suggested.
Deborah says
Yes – it’s a very big cheesecake! Let me know how it goes to use a 6″ springform!
Fatima says
Hi Deborah. I am LOVING this recipe; it stars in my dreams on a daily basis. I was wanting to half the recipe since this one seems too big for me. Do you have any tips on how to do that?
Deborah says
I haven’t tried halving it, so I can’t say for sure, but I know I had a commenter that said they have made this in a 9×13-inch baking dish. So I’m guessing you’d be able to make it in an 8×8 or 9×9-inch pan. You’d have to adjust the baking time, though.
Katie says
This recipe is absolutely amazing! I have used it 4 or 5 times and it is ALWAYS a hit. I don’t have any springform pans so I just make it in a 9X13 baking pan and it works great. Thank you so much for this great recipe!
Deborah says
I am so glad you have loved it so much – and I’m glad to hear it works in a 9×13 pan!
Namia says
Hi Deborah!
That cheesecake looks ravishing. I was just wondering what size pan you used to make it
Deborah says
I made it in a 9-inch springform pan.
Emma says
Just baked this and I was wondering… when should I remove the cheesecake from the pan? Before or after chilling in the fridge?
Deborah says
I leave the cheesecake in the pan until after chilling it in the fridge.
Kathryn says
Made this today for a friend’s birthday who loves Reese’s. It was delicious. Note to anyone who makes this, 32 oz. is A LOT of cream cheese – this cheesecake is HUGE! All the batter barely fit in my 9″ springform! But I am very pleased with the recipe and results – very yummy!!!