peanut butter cheesecake

The more and more I think about it, I believe cheesecake to be my speciality.  A while back, I wrote a blog post detailing some helpful hints towards making cheesecake which you can find if you click HERE.  And every time I make cheesecakes, I find it to be an intuitive process.  I don't follow a set list of procedures.  I just look at the cake and smell it while its baking in the oven and I can tell right away when its ready to shut off the oven.  But if you are starting out, those helpful tips linked about will definitely help you out!

Peanut Butter Cheesecake with Oreo Crust and Chocolate Drizzle

PB Cheesecake Recipe adapted from my Oreo Cheesecake Recipe

Ingredients:

22 oreo sandwich cookies

3 tbsp butter, melted

16 oz cream cheese, room temperature (approx. 2 eight oz packages)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup greek yogurt, room temperature

1/4 cup milk, room temperature

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 325F.  Wrap the insides of an 11 x 7" rectangular pan in aluminum foil.

Grease with melted butter and set aside.

2) Twist the sandwiched cookies apart and remove the white filling with the back of a butter knife.  Discard this filling.  Place the chocolate cookies in a ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin to fine crumbs.  This should make approximately 1.5 cups of oreo crumbs.

3) Add the melted butter to the cookie crumbs and mix.  Pour this mixture into the greased pan.  Form a cookie base in the pan using your hands to spread and push the cookie crumbs into place.  Bake for 7-10 minutes and allow to cool.

4) In a blender, add yogurt, milk and 4 oz of cream cheese.  Blend until a creamy and smooth texture is achieved.  Add an additional 4 oz of cream cheese and repeat process until all of the cream cheese has blended completely with the yogurt.  Add the flour and blend until there are no lumps.  Add the peanut butter until mixture is creamy and smooth.

5) In a bowl, beat the eggs with the vanilla, sugar and salt.  Add the cream cheese mixture from the blender into the bowl.  Mix until combined. Do not over beat. 

6) Add this mixture to the pan with the oreo base layer.  Spread the batter evenly.

7) Place pan into the middle rack of the oven and bake for 35 minutes.  After 35 minutes, turn off the oven and keep the oven door slightly ajar.  Do not touch the cheesecake.  Let it sit and rest in the oven for approximately 3 hours.  

8) After 3 hours, remove the cheesecake and cover the pan with plastic wrap.  Place it in the fridge and let it sit overnight.  The next day, the cheesecake can be easily removed from the pan by lifting up the aluminum foil.  Drizzle melted chocolate over cheesecake.  Keep covered under plastic wrap until ready to eat.