First Try at Cheesecake

1/20/2010

So I finally got a cheesecake pan for our wedding...which was 3 months ago and thought it was about time to use it. I've been wanting to make this cheesecake forever. I wanted to find something that was similar to the Cheesecake Factory's Adam's Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake. So this is what I found online and I changed it a bit.

Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake
Ingredients

1-1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup crushed cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies
6 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup creamy Jif® Peanut Butter
FILLING:
3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup hot fudge ice cream topping, divided
6 peanut butter cups, cut into small wedges

Directions

In a bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, sugar, cookie crumbs and butter. Press onto the bottom and 1 in. up the sides of a greased 9-in. springform pan. Place on a baking sheet.
Bake at 350° for 7-9 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack.
In a microwave-safe bowl, heat peanut butter on high for 30 seconds or until softened. Spread over crust to within 1 in. of edges.
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and sour cream until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in vanilla. Pour 1 cup into a bowl; set aside. Pour remaining filling over peanut butter layer.
In a microwave-safe bowl, heat 1/4 cup fudge topping on high for 30 seconds or until thin; fold into reserved cream cheese mixture. Carefully pour over filling; cut through with a knife to swirl.
Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 55-65 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer.
Microwave remaining fudge topping for 30 seconds or until warmed; spread over cheesecake. Garnish with peanut butter cups. Refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 12-14 servings.

**a few things I changed.. I added chopped Butterfingers and chopped Reese's peanut butter cups to the batter. I also used Butterfingers on top of the cake along with the Reese's.

This cheesecake was awesome! Next time I would make the whole crust out of chocolate cookies rather than a mixture of chocolate and graham crackers. It would seem more like the Cheesecake Factory kind and taste better :)