Peanut Butter Toffee Cheesecake

Thanks for sharing!

This peanut butter cheesecake is layer after layer of pure decadence and deliciousness. The toffee adds a rich buttery depth of flavor that makes it even better.

Peanut butter fans, this one is for you!   This cheesecake puts that fabulous peanut butter flavor front and center.  Each layer adds more texture and tasty goodness resulting in a perfect special occasion dessert.

Peanut butter ranks pretty high on my list of favorite foods.  So when my sister requested a Nutter Butter cheesecake for her birthday treat, I was all in.     

She sent me a link to a recipe that had caught her eye knowing full well that I would be incapable of making that exact thing. I like to put my own twist on things.

For example, I kept the crust being made from peanut butter sandwich cookies and toffee. From there I riffed on the idea, using twists I knew we would love.

We have been spoiled with my Aunt Donna’s perfect (and dang near foolproof) sweetened condensed milk cheesecake for far too long. So I decided to do a peanut butter twist on her chocolate cheesecake for the main cheesecake layer.

The topping is a soft and creamy peanut butter mixture that adds a nice texture to the mix. It gave it that little bit of gooey that I think is part of what makes peanut butter toast so good.

A few extra cookies and toffee bit on top add pizzazz. Really it’s a pretty easy dessert to put together and it has that wow factor.

The Crust

The crust comes together really simply. Just make crumbs from about 12 ounces of peanut butter sandwich cookies.

You could use a rolling pin and plastic bag if you would like, but I always make a mess doing it that way. So I break out the food processor to get it done quick.

Then mix the crumbs with melted butter and some toffee bits. You could chop a few bars on your own, but I just got a bag of Heath bits from the baking aisle by the chocolate chips.

The toffee kind of melts into the crust when you bake the cheesecake making for a delightful flavor and texture. The crust was firmer than most graham cracker crumb crusts and I really enjoyed the result.

The filling

This cheesecake filling is super simple to make.  Really the only thing to keep in mind is to get the cream cheese whipped really smooth before you add any other ingredients.

That is easier to accomplish with nicely softened cream cheese and room temperature eggs.  Having everything at room temperature will help when it’s time to add the peanut butter chips as well.

So you might as well save yourself frustration and wait for everything to warm up a bit. You’ll also want to be sure to scrape the beaters and the sides of the bowl a couple of times before you move on.

Once the cream cheese is super smooth, go ahead and add the sweetened condensed milk. This is your last chance to really beat it, once you start adding eggs you don’t want to whip too much air into the mixture.

This recipe never cracks for me and I never use a water bath! The reason most cheesecakes crack is too quick of a temperature change.

So this bakes lower and slower. Once it is mostly set, I turn off the oven but leave the cheesecake inside for another 10-15 minutes.

Then I give it a nice long cool on the counter before transferring it to the refrigerator to chill. The slow cool down helps to keep the top nice.

Of course we’re going to cover it with yummy topping anyway, so don’t panic if it does crack. Just proceed to the topping and nobody will be the wiser.

The Topping

It is hard to go wrong with this simple mix of peanut butter, cream and sugar. It is fluffy amd delicious.

I wouldn’t blame you in the least if you saved a little in the bowl to enjoy on its own.  But definitely make sure some makes it on the cheesecake.

I tend to like to add a little cream at a time to lighten the mixture a bit. Though I am almost certain you could just dump all of the ingredients in a bowl and beat it well and be just as good.

The only thing to be careful about is to make sure your cheesecake is chilled before you top it. Then garnish to your hearts’ desire.

Enjoy!

As you can imagine, it is on the rich side so you can feed quite a few people with one cheesecake. Cut small pieces with a clean knife and everyone is sure to be happy and impressed.

This was a huge hit with my extended family.  The birthday girl happily took a tub of leftovers home with her.

Little Dude and I split the piece that was left when we got home later that night. We both savored it, quietly wishing we had just a bit more.

Thanks for sharing!