by Kelly J. Larson

When peanut butter and chocolate collide, you have a wonderful Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. Who remembers those silly commercials with two people accidentally bumping into each other exclaiming, “You got peanut butter on my chocolate!” And, “You got chocolate on my peanut butter?” The world has changed drastically since then. But the flavor combination remains brilliant. Add brownies and cheesecake and you have a slice of heaven in an 8-inch springform pan.

Plan on a full day before you can actually eat any of this deliciousness because there’s baking, cooling, decorating, chilling and eventually you will get to dig in. The anticipation and patience is definitely worth the culinary investment. (Maybe you could run a mile or two in preparation for the occasion even.) The brownie layer and cheesecake can be baked one day, then the peanut butter glaze and chocolate ganache the following day.

Peanut Butter Brownie Cheesecake

Brownie Bottom

• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces (morsels work fine too)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup flour
• 16 mini peanut butter cups (5 ounces), halved

Line the bottom of an 8-inch round springform pan with parchment paper and spray the interior sides with Baker’s Joy. Preheat oven to 325°F degrees (or 350° in my oven).

In a large microwave safe bowl, heat chocolate, butter and salt for 90 seconds on 50 percent power. Stir everything together as the chocolate and butter will be melted. Stir in sugar, then cool slightly. Add eggs, then add flour. Gently stir in the peanut butter cups, but don’t over mix. Fill the springform pan with the brownie batter, then bake for 15 minutes and remove from oven.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake

• 16 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 eggs

Mix cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar, salt and cornstarch in stand mixer until smooth. Add whipping cream and vanilla extract, then add the eggs and mix until everything is smooth and there are no lumps.

Put two pieces of foil on the bottom of the pan and up and around the sides of the springform pan to form a protective layer that will prevent water from getting inside. Pour the cheesecake mixture carefully on top of the brownie layer. Place the springform pan inside a 9-inch by 13-inch baking pan.

Put the pans into the preheated oven, then pour hot water into the rectangular pan to create a water bath around the cheesecake while it bakes. (This process helps with even baking and preventing cracking on top of the baked dessert.) Fill rectangle pan with enough hot water to come up about half the height of the cheesecake pan, avoiding getting any water inside the cheesecake pan or allowing any to seep around the foil and into the dessert.

Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, then turn off the oven, leave the door ajar and keep the cheesecake in for an additional half hour. Remove from the oven and cool completely for about 4 hours. After cooling down, place the cheesecake in the refrigerator for 8 more hours. The peanut butter glaze can be added before or after the refrigeration time.

Peanut Butter Glaze

• 1/4 cup butter
• pinch of salt
• 2/3 cup peanut butter
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 16 additional mini peanut butter cups, halved and quartered (optional)

Melt the butter, salt, peanut butter in small micro cooker for 30 seconds, stirring well until it is all melted. Add powdered sugar and mix until smooth. The glaze will thicken as it cools. Spread glaze on top of the cooled cheesecake. Garnish top of cheesecake with additional halved and quartered peanut butter cups. Return the cheesecake to the refrigerator until the ganache is the right consistency for spreading.

Chocolate Ganache

• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• pinch of salt

Heat ingredients in a small micro cooker for 1 minute. Whisk until the chocolate has melted to create a smooth ganache. Add additional 30 seconds cooking if needed. Cool until it becomes a thick, spreadable consistency. Chill in the refrigerator to speed up the process, whisking occasionally to check the thickness feel.

When the ganache resembles a thick frosting, it’s ready to decorate the outside edge.

Remove outer ring of pan and transfer onto a serving tray or cake stand. Spread the thickened ganache over the outside of the cheesecake edges. Refrigerate once again until serving time.

Makes 12 servings.

Recipe originated as the Buckeye Brownie Cheesecake by Sarah at myfrostedlife.com, with minimal changes simply to convert to non-metric measurements as well as describing some of the preparation steps. I also cut the ganache quantity in half.