So a few weeks ago I asked on social media what I should do on my blog. Between you guys and my own family, I got so many requests. So this week, I decided to combine two. One was a cheesecake with peanut butter and chocolate so I was prepared to make my peanut butter/Oreo cheesecake this week which is still coming, but then my sister’s boyfriend suggested making a cheesecake then cutting pieces out with a cookie cutter and dipping those in chocolate. So I thought of Reese’s right off the bat because I can’t think of anything better that is coated in chocolate and involves peanut butter. So, Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecakes were born.

You may notice from the title of this post that cheesecake bites are included in this too. That is because when we punch out the mini cakes from the bigger cake there is about a quarter of the cheesecake’s worth of scraps still remaining. That’s too good to let that go to waste, so what we are going to do is mush all of that up in a separate bowl and make balls out of it that are then drizzled or coated in chocolate. Ok, I’m getting hungry. Let’s get started.

So, to start we are going to prepare our pan and preheat our oven to 350 degrees. I want this cheesecake to be a little bit thinner than normal to use the cookie cutter so I am using a 10 inch pan.

Then we are going to prepare and cook our crust To do this, first crush up a pack of chocolate graham crackers in a food processor or freezer bag with a rolling pin or flat end of a meat tendorizor. After those are crushed up, add the melted butter and pulse that in your food processor or mix it around in the bag until incorperated. You are looking for the texture of wet sand. When that is all ready, press this mixture into the prepared pan. For this you’re hands are really your best tools. It’s really easiest to feel if the crust is in an even layor and to be able to press it down.

So, when this is done, you are going to bake it for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Take this out of the oven, let it cool and then put it in the freezer for 1 hour.

Now, on to the cheesecake. To start we are going to put our softened cream cheese in the bowl of our stand mixer or regular bowl with a hand mixer. Beat this on medium speed until smooth. This will take about 5-10 minutes. Remember to scrape down the sides and the bottem of the bowl to make sure its all smooth. We can’t put this through a sieve like we did last week bacause the batter will be way to thick because of the peanut butter. So there is no extra insurance to make sure this is smooth. You really have to be diligent in making sure this is smooth.

Add the peanut butter and beat until incorperated. Scrape down the sides and the bottem of the bowl and beat again until smooth.

Do the same with the sugar and vanilla extract, followed by the plain greek yogurt. Make sure everything is combined and smooth before you add the eggs because you can’t beat the batter much after that. If you beat the batter too much with the eggs in there it can give the finished product a gummy or gluey texture.

Add the eggs in one at a time, beating in between, each addition and scrape down the bottom and the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is incorperated. ,

Pour the batter into the pan using your rubber spatula, level off the batter. Like I said it is quite a bit thicker than this batter typically is so it won’t just level itself off and flow where it needs to. Bake in a water bath for 45 minutes. Because we used a 10 inch pan, the batter is a little more shallow in the pan so it bakes a little quicker. But you just want to watch for it to be slightly jiggly in the center but the edges are set. Once its done crack the oven door, shut off the oven and leave it in for an additional hour to cool like always.

After it is fully cooled, stick the cheesecake in the freezer for 3-4 hours. You want it to be not frozen solid but firm.

Take the cheesecake out and run a warm offset spatula along the sides of the cake and take off the sides of the pan.

NOW COMES THE FUN PART.

Use the cookie cutter to cut out mini cheesecakes from the larger cake. Just do your best and punch them out as close to each other as possible. Don’t worry we won’t waste a bit of this cake. I will show you how to use the scraps. Once you have used the cookie cutter to cut the circle, use a spatula or knife to scoot under the cakes and transfer them to another container. Once they are all punched out stick them back in the freezer for one more hour.

Now we are left with all these scraps that we can’t make a mini cake out of. CHEESECAKE BITES TO THE RESCUE! All you gotta do is mush all these scraps up in a bowl and roll it into balls just like you are make meatballs. Store these in a container and freeze these as well for an hour.

Next, we need to melt some chocolate. The best way to melt a large batch of chocolate is with a double boiler. So, break out a pot of shallow water or the bottom of your double boiler filled with a shallow amout of water and bring it to a simmer.

Once at a simmer place a heat safe bowl or the top of your double boiler on top of the simmering pot. Add the chololate chips nd stir continiously until melted. You want to keep this moving or it will burn. Burned chocolate is no bueno. Once all melted pour in 2 tbsp of vegitable oil to thin out the chocolate so it coats better. Absolutely do not use water. Water makes chocolate seize and you will have a big unsalvageable mess.

What I did was a variety of different coatings: I drizzled some, I dipped some half way in chocolate and I coated some completely in chocolate. To rest these on and let the excess chocolate drip off I put them on a cooling rack and a tray with parchment paper on it on the bottem to catch the chocolate

To drizzle, take a spoon and scoop up some chocolate. Hold the spoon straight up and down and move the spoon back and forth over the dessert you want to drizzle, Letting the chocolate drip off the spoon. You want to move the spoon kind of fast so that the chocolate doesn’t all drip in the same place.

Dipping half way- Grip the mini cheesecake with youR thumb on the top of the cake and your other fingers on the bottem. Dip the cheesecake half way in the chocolate, hold it there for a second and then pullit out it out and set it on the cooling rack.

Coating in Chocolate – Pour the chocolate onto the cakes. Use a utensil to coax the chocolate over the sides and let the excess drip off. Let that harden and once hardened, turn the cheesecake over and pour a small amount to cover the bottom.

I would recommend doing the decorations for what will take the least amout of chocolate first and then proceed from there so you dont run out of chocolate. Once they are all done you can enjoy them immediately or stir them in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

These cheesecakes taste so much like a reeses peanut butter cup, its scary. and these are scary addictive too. I could eat all of them in one sitting and mind you these all together are a 10 inch cheesecake. Let me know what else you guys want to see. I love bringing your ideas to life and baking for you all. I will see you all next week with a brand new recipe. Bye!

Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecakes and Bites

Name: Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecakes and Bites
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 7 h 15 min
Yield: 9
Ingredients: Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust; Plain Vanilla Cheesecake; 2.5 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips; 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil; 2 inch cookie cutter; 1 inch cookie cutter; offset spatula or pie knife; 3 (8oz) packs of cream cheese; 1 cup of granulated sugar; 5 eggs; 1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt; 1 Tbsp of vanilla extract; 1 cup of peanut butter; 1 pack of chocolate graham cracker crumbs; 4 Tbsp of butter

Yield: 9 2 inch rounds, 3 1 inch rounds and 8 balls

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Additional Time: 6 hours

Total Time: 7 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

For Crust

1 pack of chocolate graham cracker crumbs
4 Tbsp of butter

For Cheesecake

3 (8oz) packs of cream cheese
1 cup of granulated sugar
5 eggs
1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt
1 Tbsp of vanilla extract
1 cup of peanut butter

For Decoration

2.5 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 Tbsp of vegetable oil
2 inch cookie cutter
1 inch cookie cutter
offset spatula or pie knife

Components

Instructions

For Crust

Prepare a 10 inch springform pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Crush up the graham crackers in a food processor or freezer bag with a rolling pin or meat tenderizer on the flat end until you get course crumbs.
Pour in the melted butter and mix or pulse to combine. You are looking for the texture of wet sand.
Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

For Cheesecake

Place the cream cheese in the bowl of your stand mixer or regular bowl with a hand mixer. Beat until smooth. About 5-10 minutes. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl and beat again until smooth.
Add the peanut butter and beat to incorporate. Scrape down the bottom and the side of the bowl and beat again until smooth.
Add the sugar and beat until incorporate. Scrape down the bottom and the sides of the bowl and beat again until incorporated and smooth. Do the same with the plain greek yogurt.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating in between each addition until incorporated.
Pour batter into your prepared pan. Tap the pan on the table a few times to get rid of air bubbles in the batter.
Bake for 45 minutes or until the edges are set but the middle jiggles just slightly. The cheesecake is in a bigger pan so the batter is more shallow. This made it not take as long to bake.
After it's done, crack the oven door, shut off the oven and leave the cheesecake in there for an additional hour.
Place the cheesecake in the freezer for 2-3 hours until not frozen but firm.

To Decorate

Using the cookie cutter, punch out circles from the cheesecake. I got 9 2 inch rounds and 3 1 inch rounds. Take the excess cheesecake and roll it into 1 inch balls.
Melt chocolate in a double boiler and thin it out with vegetable oil.
Drizzle, dip and coat the cheesecakes in chocolate. If you prefer to make all the same decoration whether it's drizzle, dipping half way or coating completely in chocolate. I personally wanted a variety.
Enjoy immediately or store in the fridge in an air tight container for up to two weeks