| What can I say about this cheesecake that probably hasn't already been said before in my millions of recipes featuring chocolate, peanut butter, and peanut butter cups? It features a thick brownie bottom, luscious peanut butter cheesecake filling, it's loaded with Reese's cups, and it's oozing with milk chocolate ganache on top. Basically, it's heaven. No, seriously. It's heaven. And not just chocolate and peanut butter heaven, but actual heaven. I have other extremely heavenly chocolate and peanut butter recipes, but this one is right near the top if you asked me to choose a favorite. First of all, I've made plenty of brownie-bottom cheesecakes, and my basic brownie-bottom cheesecake recipe is a staple for me. It's an entire pan of brownies as the crust – I've made it with mint chocolate chip cheesecake on top, pumpkin cheesecake, and black forest cheesecake. It's such a versatile recipe, and a cheesecake with a brownie base is always a hit. The crust is almost an inch thick! The peanut butter cheesecake layer is also tried-and-true, and foolproof. I've used it before in other recipes, and it's creamy, rich, and full of peanut butter flavor. I crammed it with about two dozen mini Reese's peanut butter cups, so it's a pretty outrageous layer of cheesecake, all in all! Then the cheesecake is drenched in milk chocolate ganache, and covered with about a dozen more mini Reese's peanut butter cups. That's my kind of garnish. For all the layers it has, this Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Cheesecake recipe is actually super simple to make. It'll be a bit time-consuming, but it's mostly in idle baking time, and the manual labor is very minimal! It's truly very simple. The crust starts with box brownie mix, the cheesecake layer is only a handful of ingredients, and the milk chocolate ganache comes together quickly with a minute or two in the microwave. The result is a serious show-stopper! Ingredients For Brownie Layer: - 1 box brownie mix, like betty crocker original supreme w/ hershey's syrup
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
For Cheesecake Layer: - 3 8 ounce packages reduced fat cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 24 miniature reese's peanut butter cups, chopped
For Ganache and Topping: - 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 16 miniature reese's peanut butter cups, chopped
Directions To Make the Brownie Layer: - Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together brownie mix, oil, water, and egg.
- Fold in chocolate chips.
- Spread batter into the bottom of a well-greased 9-inch springform pan.
- Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted 2 inches from the side comes out with moist crumbs.
- Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare cheesecake layer.
To Make the Cheesecake Layer: - In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth.
- Add sugar, and beat until combined.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Beat in vanilla and creamy peanut butter.
- Fold in chopped Reese's cups.
- Pour batter evenly over brownie layer.
- Return to oven for 40-50 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown, and the center is slightly jiggly.
- Cool in the pan on a wire rack.
- Run a knife around the edge, and release the sides of the pan to remove cheesecake.
For the Ganache and Topping: - In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate chips, heavy cream, and butter.
- Microwave on high at 30-second intervals until chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Pour ganache over cooled cheesecake.
- Sprinkle with chopped peanut butter cups.
- Allow 10-15 minutes for ganache to set. Cut and serve.
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