Reese Peanut Butter Cheesecake Recipe

If you're a Peanut Butter junkie, this cheesecake is perfect for you!

For the past month(s), I have been inactive for 3 reason: (1) because my cousin from Canada came to the Philippines to visit, (2) because I started driving lessons, and (3) because I started working in an office! I'd like to share more about #2 and #3 on a different post, so let me tell you more about my cousin: she stayed in my house for the whole month and we were busy catching up for the 7 years we were apart. I discovered something that we couldn't discuss over the phone -- that she loves peanut butter!

I was able to make a peanut butter chocolate cake for her, but there were some left over Reese peanut butter cups after she left. Also, some cream cheese because of the cream cheese frosting that I made for the that cake. Then I remembered how I made that Oreo Cheesecake and never actually got a chance to taste it myself... So why not make a Reese Peanut Butter Cheesecake for myself??

And when I said "for myself", I actually meant it! I have some 6-inch aluminum cheesecake pan with a removable bottom. I tried using it on sponge cakes before when I'm making a 3-tier cake, but other than that, I don't use this pan. So why not make the most out of it?

This size is just perfect for one person, or giving it as a gift. But being generous as I am, I still shared some to my family. ;) But let me tell you - it barely lasted 24 hours! Not just of the serving size, but because it actually tastes good!
Ingredients For Crust 80g (1 cup) Peanut Butter cookie sandwiches (If these aren't available in your area, use Oreos instead) 1 tbsp butter (melted) 1 tbsp sugar For Cheesecake 8oz (1 package) cream cheese 1/4 cup Sugar 1/2 tsp Vanilla 1pc egg 5pcs Reese Peanut Butter Cups For Peanut Butter Ganache and Garnishing* 1/3 cup Reese peanut butter chips 1/6 cup heavy whipping cream 1pc Reese Peanut Butter Cups (chopped)
Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 175C.

Making the Crust:

1. Place Peanut Butter flavored cookie sandwiches in a food processor. Pulse until the cookies are in fine crumbs. If you don't have a food processor, place the cookies in a resealable bag and use a rolling pin or glass bottle to crush the cookies into fine crumbs.
2. Mix melted butter into cookie crumbs. Once it's mixed thoroughly, pack the crumbs on the bottom of a 6" springform pan.  

Making the Cheesecake:

1. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add in sugar and vanilla. When the mixture is well blended, beat in eggs one at a time.
2. Place Reese Peanut Butter Cups on top of the prepared crust. Line this the way you wish - you may create a circle inside the pan to make sure that it is distributed evenly on every slice, or stack it all in the center to put the "surprise" in the middle part of the cake.
3. Pour batter carefully into the crust, making sure not to move the previously arranged Peanut Butter cups.
4. Bake for 45 minutes. After baking, open the oven door by a little bit and let the cake cool inside for around 30 minutes. Afterwards, refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

Garnishing the Cake:

1. Prepare the Peanut Butter Ganache (or whipped cream, if desired). To do so, heat heavy whipping cream. Add it to the peanut butter chips and mix thoroughly until no more lumps are present. Let it cool to room temperature.
2. Remove the cheesecake from the fridge and pour the peanut butter ganache on it.
3. Chop each remaining Reese Peanut Butter Cups into quarters. Sprinkle on top of the cheesecake.

Makes one 6" cheesecake.

Now I am proud of this recipe because it is the first time I played around and made my own! If there are any similarities to other recipes online, then it is just a coincidence. When I was making this, I was only using my Oreo Cheesecake recipe as basis.

*My brother commented that the peanut butter taste is a bit overwhelming. If you wish, you may opt to switch the peanut butter ganache to whipped cream instead.

Red Velvet Crinkles Sandwich with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Well, that title was a mouthful.

And so are these crinkle sandwiches!

Back in college, I discovered these sweet treats when my org started selling these as one of our fund raising activities. Although I want to support my org, it's really against my will to buy myself a tub of crinkles when I can make one myself. :(

I have attempted making these for lots of occasions. Okay, fine - just one. The rest are just because I want to eat 'em. I made these during my friend Shin's 13th birthday (yes, I have friends that young!) and they loved it! But the filling I used then was my regular cream cheese frosting recipe. Although this frosting is good on cakes and cupcakes, I find it too creamy for the sandwich filling. So I decided to modify it a bit to make it maintain its shape, but is still not uber sweet :)

What I like about this recipe is that the crinkles itself is puffy and cakey, but not dry. I have tried making these crinkles before making a classic chocolate crinkle, and every attempt I made on the latter is flat. :( I'm still on my journey on finding the perfect chocolate crinkle recipe, but these red velvet crinkles are my go-to!

You know, these crinkles can do perfectly well on it's own. It already tastes delicious as it is!

But you know how frosting makes everything better, right?


Red Velvet Crinkle Cream Cheese Sandwich
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
2oz (or 1/4 cup) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2pcs eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp red food coloring
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

• Place flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a medium mixing bowl.
• Mix butter, and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and cream for about 1 to 2 minutes. Add eggs, red food coloring, and vanilla. Mix well.
• Add dry mixture in two batches and mix well.
• Refrigerate cookie dough for 4 hours.
• Heat oven to 175C.
• Scoop about 1 tsp of mixture and roll into balls. Roll it in powdered sugar, making sure to cover everything.
• Bake for around 9 to 10 minutes.

Makes approx. 30 cookies

Recipe adapted from thelittlekitchen.

Cream Cheese frosting

Ingredients
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

• Cream together room temperature cream cheese and butter.
• Add in vanilla. Stir until no more streaks of vanilla are seen.
• Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, making sure to mix it in completely before adding the next cup.

You know about my red velvet addiction, right? Well, if not, check out my other red velvet recipes:

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Red Velvet Cake 

Red Velvet Mousse Cake