Tasty Tuesdays: Double Peanut Butter Cheesecake

As promised, today I'm posting the peanut butter cheesecake recipe that I whipped up last week. Please note, this is for peanut butter lovers only. It has a strong taste, but it's not overpowering. Consider this a warning though, you probably will want to eat more than one piece... Everyone I gave some to at work seemed to enjoy it & I got an "It's good" at home. Licking the bowl/spoon was a spiritual experience... Ha.

I used light cream cheese & light cool whip, because to me they taste the same. If you prefer the full-fat versions, I'm sure they would sub in fine. Or, feel free to sub in light peanut butter if you want an even lighter treat.

Here's what you need:

Most of the ingredients to make a little "piece of heaven" (get it?)

1     pre-made graham cracker crust (or make your own if you've got the time)
2 pkgs     light cream cheese

4-6 tbps     brown sugar
~1/4 c     peanut butter
1/2 c     Reese peanut butter Chipits
cool whip (as needed)

How to do it up:

1. If you want to pre-bake your crust follow the instructions on the lid. Otherwise, go to step 2.
2. Heat up both cream cheese packages by opening them and placing the blocks on a plate. Microwave for 30 seconds, check them and then heat again for 20-30 more seconds if needed.
3. Plop the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Add brown sugar a couple tablespoons at a time, creaming the mixture together well. Add the peanut butter. (Have a taste to see if more sugar is needed. If so add one tbsp at a time.)

4. Add the peanut butter chips and mix to evenly distribute them.

5. Scoop the mixture into the center of the graham cracker crust and spread gently outward toward the edges. Don't worry if the crust breaks up a bit, the mixture should hold it together.

6. Refrigerate until set, if you can wait that long... If not, top with a dollop of whipped cream and indulge yourself!

And the result is a cheesecake that's creamy, nutty and decadent but light. FYI this recipe was inspired by many others I've seen linked to on Tastespotting but I came up with a modified recipe that was more simple and (a little) less sweet. Let me know if you give it a try!

*What's your favorite PB recipe? Tell me in the comments!


xo Janelle

Tasty "Thursdays": Peanut Butter Cups

Tasty Tuesdays is Thursday for today.... Two weeks ago I made these little delights for D as an Easter treat. I'm not a huge peanut butter cup fan myself even though I love chocolate and peanut butter separately, but because D is crazy about them I really wanted to give them a go. I used this recipe from All Recipes, but I did regular sized cups instead of mini ones, so I did end up having to use more chocolate than indicated. I've modified the recipe on this page for the larger cups, FYI.

Ingredients

• 2 pkgs milk chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs (I used storebought fine breadcrumbs and it was fine!)

Do it up

In 1-quart saucepan combine chocolate chips and shortening. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth (3 to 5 minutes).
*I used a double boiler as you can see in the photo. If you don't know what a double boiler is, it's when you put 1-2 inches in a pot, bring it to a boil, then reduce it. Then you put a metal bowl on top of the pot and melt your chocolate in it. It keeps the chocolate from cooling and hardening because you keep the water boiling at low heat. It makes working with chocolate so much easier & I highly recommend it!

With small paint brush or mini-spatula, coat inside top cup evenly with about 1 teaspoon melted chocolate to about 1/8-inch thickness, bringing coating to middle of cup. Repeat until all cups are coated; refrigerate or freeze cups. 

In 2-quart saucepan combine butter or margarine and peanut butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until melted (4 to 6 minutes). Stir in confectioners' sugar and graham cracker crumbs. Press about 1-1-1/2 tablespoon filling into each chocolate cup.
Spoon about 1 teaspoon melted chocolate on top of filling; spread to cover. Freeze until firm (about 2 hours) carefully peel off paper cups. Store refrigerated. 

 

The smooth top ones were made with Chip its brand chips.

This recipe is definitely worth trying. It takes a little while to line the cups but once you get used to it, you can breeze right through. Not to mention, they taste delicious and the texture of the PB filling is perfect. Let me know if you give these a shot!

Thanks for reading,
xo Janelle