Last Updated on February 21, 2021 by laurenpacek
This Peanut Butter Cheesecake with Dark Chocolate Ganache is decadent. It will satisfy any peanut butter and chocolate cravings that you might have!
Join me in wishing this little blog a very happy 4th birthday! A Nerd Cooks turned 4 years old yesterday. Hard to believe that I have a pre-school-aged blog on my hands.
What started as a creative outlet and way to keep my sanity during grad school has turned into... well, it's still those things (except swap "grad school" for "post doc").
I have so much fun blogging, and hearing from others saying that they enjoy the food that I share makes it that much more fun.
This cheesecake is my way of sharing my blog-related joy, and celebrating, with you. It's a classic flavor combination that can't miss: peanut butter and chocolate. You get peanut butter flavor in the cheesecake itself and the salty peanuts on top, and chocolate in the ganache as well as the Oreo cookie crust.
Make it, and soon. You will be happy that you did.
This cheesecake is based on, though modified a bit, the recipe found here, from Buttercream Bakehouse.
- 24 Oreo cookies
- 4 tbs unsalted butter, melted
- 24 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 oz dark chocolate, chopped
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- salted and roasted peanuts, for topping the cheesecake
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with butter. Set aside for a minute.
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In a blender or food processor, pulse the Oreo cookies until they are fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse again until the mixture resembles damp sand.
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Pour the Oreo and butter mixture into the bottom of the springform pan. Lightly press the crust into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the pan and allow it to cool.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and peanut butter on medium speed until completely smooth.
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Add the sugars and beat again until well combined.
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Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Add the vanilla extract.
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Pour the cheesecake filling over the Oreo crust, smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the edges are set and the center isn't too jiggly.
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Turn off the oven and open the door partway, allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the cheesecake to a wire rack to allow it to cool completely. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
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Once the cheesecake has cooled and been refrigerated, add the chopped dark chocolate and heavy cream to a microwave safe dish and microwave in 30 second intervals. Whisk the mixture between bouts in the microwave until it is completely smooth.
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Pour the ganache on top of the cheesecake. Add salted peanuts. Slice and eat.
If you need more cheesecake recipes, check out this Chocolate Guinness Cheesecake or S'mores Cheesecake!
These are gorgeous photos! I'm a huge chocolate peanut butter fan, hubs not so much 😉 oh and happy birthday!!! So awesome!!! We're just baby bloggers compared to you 😉
I'm sitting here drooling! Every single one of these looks amazing. I couldn't even read the words. I just stared at the pictures... 😉
I really can't understand what grad students/postdocs who DON'T blog do to get through the tough times...it seems crazy. This cheesecake is the ULTIMATE celebratory cake!