My sister asked me if I had a favorite peanut butter cheesecake recipe not long ago and I couldn’t believe I didn’t have one. Nothing in my little notebook and nothing saved in Pinterest. I guess that meant I needed to see if I could come up with one that could be a favorite. After a couple tries getting feedback of ‘needs more peanut butter’, I think this is a winner. With a peanut butter graham cracker crust, a filling with 2 cups of peanut butter, and a peanut butter sour cream topping it seems to satisfy that craving.
Crust
- 1 sleeve of graham cracker crumbs (9 sheets – about 1 1/4 cup)
- 3 Tablespoons white sugar
- 3 Tablespoons of lightly salted penuts
- 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Filling
- 24 oz cream cheese, softened (3 – 8 oz blocks)
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup sour cream (room temperature)
- 2 cups creamy peanut butter (commercial, like Jiff)
- 4 eggs (room temperature)
Topping
- 1 cup sour cream, cold
- 1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice*
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
Additional peanuts for topping
Directions
Crust: Preheat oven to 350oF (rack in the center of the oven). Cover the bottom of a 9″ springform pan with parchment, attach the sides over the paper (this makes it easy to remove the cake if you want to put on a serving plate). Cover the outside of the springform pan with aluminum foil so that the butter doesn’t leak onto your oven. Spray inside of pan with non-stick spray. Pulse graham crackers and peanuts in the food processor. In the processor or a small bowl, mix together the crumbs with the sugar. Add the melted butter and mix until the crumbs are coated. Pour crumbs evenly into the prepared springform pan and gently smooth out. I only like a crust on the bottom, but if you like it on the sides; work the crumbs up the sides so that they go about halfway up your pan. Place pan into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool while preparing the filling.
Filling: Reduce the oven temperature to 300o. In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and sugar on medium speed for 2-4 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla, sour cream, and peanut butter then beat on medium until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on low-medium just until incorporated. Don’t over mix the eggs. Bake for 70-80 minutes. Cake is done when the center is set with a little jiggle. Remove cake from oven and sent on rack. Keep oven on while preparing the topping.
Topping: In a small bowl add the sour cream, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, and peanut butter, mix well. Spoon the topping on top of the warm cheesecake and smooth out with the back of a spoon. Put the cheesecake back in oven for 8 minutes for topping to set. Remove from oven, set on a wire rack and let cool completely. Refrigerate uncovered overnight. Run knife around the outside edge of the cake and release sides. Garnish with crushed and/or whole peanuts.
*Don’t skip the lemon juice – When I made the topping without it, there was a weird flavor/after taste.
