Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Absolutely loaded with nutty peanut flavor to balance the sweet tanginess of the cheesecake.
Texture: The crust is crunchy, the filling is velvety smooth, and the peanut butter topping is rich and fudgy.
Ease: Definitely more of a weekend baking project, but totally doable! Tons of cheesecake tips below.
Pros: Perfect special treat for peanut butter lovers.
Cons: None!
Would I make this again? Oh definitely.
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This is truly the Ultimate Peanut Butter Cheesecake. It’s what peanut butter dreams are made of!
Next to chocolate, peanut butter is one of my most craved foods. Usually, I combine chocolate and peanut butter. But today, I want the PB to shine!
So I created this Peanut Butter Cheesecake recipe with peanuts in the crust, peanut butter in the filling, and a peanut butter ganache topping, for absolute nutty decadence!
A dream come true for any peanut butter lover, this cheesecake is perfect for family dinners, Friendsgiving, or Christmas parties. Just check out Mary’s sweet comment below:
Reader Love
Tessa, I am to the point where I just won’t make a cheesecake recipe that isn’t yours. This peanut butter cheesecake is a dream…total perfection!! Thank you!
–
It does require some patience, as the cheesecake needs to cool slowly and chill completely before serving – but I promise it’s well worth the wait!
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make The Ultimate Peanut Butter Cheesecake
How to Make Creamy, Smooth Cheesecake
- Be sure to use high-quality full-fat bricks of cream cheese. It really makes a difference!
- Whatever you don’t, don’t use cream cheese that’s meant for spreading on a bagel.
- The cream cheese should be completely softened to room temperature. If it’s too cold, it won’t mix properly and you’ll end up with little bits of unblended cream cheese throughout cheesecake.
- Make sure your eggs are at room temperature too.
- Beat the cream cheese well before adding any other ingredients. More on this below.
- Be sure to routinely scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl, even if you’re using a paddle attachment that scrapes as it blends, to ensure everything is mixing thoroughly.
What Type of Peanut Butter is Best for Cheesecake?
Make sure to use conventional creamy peanut butter for this recipe. Conventional PB typically has an added oil in the ingredients list, which helps peanut butter emulsify. The natural stuff can separate, so I don’t recommend that here – but if that’s all you have, be sure to mix it extremely well before using, to ensure there are no dry bits or oily pockets.
Why Bake a Cheesecake in a Water Bath?
A water bath helps to create a gentle, moderated cooking environment, which:
- Prevents cracks and sunken middles
- Ensures an ultra-smooth and even texture
- Guarantees the outside of the cheesecake doesn’t become overbaked or curdled before the inside can finish baking.
How to Prepare a Cheesecake Water Bath
- Make sure you’re using a high-quality springform pan and wrapping it at least 3 times in wide heavy-duty aluminum foil. You can also use a turkey oven bag or an oven-safe slow cooker bag to protect the pan from the water.
- Place the springform pan in a larger roasting pan, and then place it onto the oven rack.
- Carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan until the water is halfway up the sides of the cheesecake pan.
- Check out my full article for more tips on water baths for cheesecakes.
How to Prevent Cracks in Cheesecake
Generally, there are 3 causes of cheesecake cracks:
1. Overbeating
- You want to beat the cream cheese with the sugar, sour cream, and peanut butter very thoroughly.
- Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl often, and beat until totally smooth.
- However, once the eggs are added, ONLY beat until combined, then stop mixing.
2. Overcooking
- The residual heat of the oven will continue to cook the cheesecake even after you’ve turned the heat off.
- Be sure to follow the tips below to know when the cheesecake is done baking.
3. Quick temperature changes
- Quick temperature changes can be caused by opening the oven door too often or cooling the cheesecake down too quickly.
- You want gentle and slow heat. That’s why this recipe cools the cheesecake inside the oven with the door cracked.
- To prevent the cheesecake from cracking as it cools, run a thin knife around the edge of the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven.
- Only after chilling should you remove the springform ring.
How to Tell When Cheesecake is Done Baking
You want to stop baking once the cheesecake looks dry on top but is still gently wobbly in the very center. The internal temperature should read 150°F with an instant-read thermometer when inserted into the center. It will finish setting up as it cools in the warm oven and as it chills in the fridge.
How to Slice Cheesecake
- If you have the time, let the cheesecake sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving, for the best taste and texture.
- Open the springform latch and gently remove the sides.
- Use a sharp knife to cut slices, running the knife under hot water and carefully wiping the blade dry between each cut, so the slices are clean and pretty.
- Slide a pie metal server underneath the graham cracker crust to ensure it doesn’t crumble.
How Long Does Peanut Butter Cheesecake Last?
This cheesecake will keep for 5 days loosely covered in the fridge. Note that the longer it’s stored, the less crunchy the crust will be.
Can You Freeze Peanut Butter Cheesecake?
Yes! Cheesecake freezes beautifully. Here’s how to freeze Peanut Butter Cheesecake:
- Place a whole cheesecake or individual slices on a baking sheet inside the freezer until firm.
- Once firm, wrap the cheesecake or each individual slice in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag.
- Freeze for up to 2 months.
- To serve, defrost a whole cheesecake in the fridge overnight. You can also defrost individual slices in the fridge overnight, or at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
More Cheesecake Recipes You’ll Love:
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Ultimate Peanut Butter Cheesecake
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 15 (230 grams) whole graham crackers
- 1/2 cup (70 grams) lightly salted roasted peanuts
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted
For the filling:
- 32 ounces (907 grams) cream cheese, completely softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (270 grams) conventional creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
For the topping:
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
For the water bath:
- Boiling water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Prepare a 9-inch diameter springform pan with at least a 2 1/2-inch depth for a water bath. Place a large square of heavy-duty aluminum foil underneath the pan. Gently fold the edges up and around the pan. Repeat twice so there are three sheets of foil, to ensure a waterproof seal. Gently fold the top of the foil around the edge of the pan. Alternatively, use a turkey roasting bag to seal the pan from the water bath. Spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Make the crust:
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the graham crackers, peanuts, sugar, and cinnamon until very finely ground. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is moistened like wet sand. Press firmly into the bottom and quarter-way up the sides of the prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool. Maintain oven temperature.
Make the filling:
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese on medium speed until completely smooth and free of lumps, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl and the paddle as needed. Add the peanut butter, sour cream, sugar, and flour and beat until combined. Scrape down the bowl and paddle completely, then blend again until combined and smooth. Add the eggs and yolk, one at a time, and beat until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan. It will fill almost completely to the top. Tap the pan against the counter a few times to release any air bubbles in the batter.
- Place the pan in a larger roasting pan. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan until the water is about halfway up the sides of the cheesecake pan. This is usually best done once the pans are already on the oven rack, to avoid spilling boiling water.
- Bake at 325°F for 1 hour, or until the top looks slightly dry and the middle is slightly wobbly. The internal temperature should read 150°F with an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center. Err on the side of underbaking rather than overbaking.
- Turn off the oven heat and open the oven door just by 1-inch. Sticking a wooden spoon in between the oven and the door can help with this. Let the cheesecake cool inside the oven for 30 minutes to 1 hour or until the oven is just warm. This will prevent cracks from forming.
- Remove the cheesecake from the oven and from the water bath, unwrap the foil, and transfer it to a cooling rack. Run a thin-bladed flexible knife around the edge of the cheesecake to make sure it's not sticking to the sides (which can cause cracks as it cools). Let the cheesecake cool completely to room temperature on the rack.
- Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 6 hours but preferably overnight.
Make the peanut butter topping:
- In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer. Add the peanut butter and stir until it begins to melt. Remove from heat and stir vigorously until smooth. Allow to cool to room temperature. Pour over the chilled cheesecake. Return to fridge for about 15 to 30 minutes to allow topping to set before slicing and serving.
- Store the cheesecake uncovered or very loosely covered to avoid condensation. Store for up to 5 days in the fridge.
This recipe was originally published in 2020 and has been updated with additional recipe tips. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
Would halving the filling ingredients result in a thinner/shorter cheesecake? Not really a fan of thick cheesecakes. Regardless this one looks too delicious not to try.
Halving the filling ingredients would result in a thinner cheesecake, but we haven’t experimented with this so I can’t say for sure how it’d turn out. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
This is delicious! I made it for the Superbowl and it was perfect. I did make a few adjustments, and it still ended up completely high-end, and all my guests declared it to be one of the best cheesecakes they’d ever had! For one, I made it with an Oreo crust, simply because I only had Oreos on hand, and I love the chocolate and PB combo anyway. I ended up making it in an 8-inch springform pan, which was very full, but I just baked it for 10 more minutes and it was great. I did not have the right equipment for baking with a water bath, so I used the old trick of putting a pan of boiling water on the rack below the cheesecake, and it still came out without any cracks! Of course, I did let it cool slowly in the oven which obviously would help with that as well. I let it sit in the fridge overnight and then added the PB ganache about an hour before consuming it. The PB ganache stayed at a good consistency for cutting through, so there were no issues with too-hard, cracking topping. The cheesecake itself was super dense and creamy, and the PB flavor was very strong, which made it not super sweet. It was however very rich, so everybody ended up getting small pieces, but that just meant all the more leftovers for me 🙂 Overall, this was a great dessert and a total winner! Definitely making again.
Tessa, I am to the point where I just won’t make a cheesecake recipe that isn’t yours. This peanut butter cheesecake is a dream…total perfection!! Thank you!
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Mary! You’ll just make Tessa’s day when I pass along your kind words!! Happy baking 🙂
I can’t wait to make your cheese cake . I hope our Christmas Eve will be one to remember .MERRY CHRISTMAS !
I made this and it was mostly perfect and delicious. Would have given 5 stars, but when I made the topping it “broke? “, never got creamy, oil separated from the peanut butter. I ended up melting peanut butter and spread that on top instead.
What kind of peanut butter did you use? I have the same issues with natural peanut butter, but the normal kind never seems to do so.
Can you make the peanut butter topping and refrigerate it if your not eating it until the next day and then heat up the topping the next morning and then pour it on 30 min before cutting it.
Hi Valerie! We have not tried that, but it should work just fine! Just be sure to re-chill before slicing, so the topping has time to set. Happy baking! 🙂
I have a request, can the recipe be translated for an 8-inch springform pan? Please
Hi Hez! I’m sorry, but we haven’t tried this recipe in an 8-inch pan! I think this amount of cheesecake might potentially overflow and be too much for an 8-inch pan. I would recommend reserving some of the cheesecake (and perhaps making those into cupcake-sized cheesecakes!). Follow the sensory indicators Tessa mentions in the recipe (how the cheesecake should look, smell, etc) because the baking time will be a little different. Let us know how it goes! 🙂
I love this one. I even managed to make it in a toaster oven!
Wow, that’s so great to hear, James! So happy you love this cheesecake 🙂