Mini Peanut Butter Pretzel Cheesecakes
Peanut butter cheesecake with a pretzel-graham cracker crust topped with melted dark chocolate and chopped peanut butter cups. Rich, creamy, sweet yet salty, it's a dessert that's hard to tire of!
Prep Time: 25 minutes mins
Cook Time: 20 minutes mins
Chill Time: 1 hour hr
Total Time: 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 20 mini cheesecakes
Pretzel-Graham Cracker Crust:
- 1 cup roughly ground salted mini pretzels
- 1 cup ground graham crackers
- 1 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
Peanut Butter Cheesecake:
- 16 oz cream cheese room temp
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large yolk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup smooth peanut butter*
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
Toppings:
- 4 oz dark chocolate, chopped, melted
- leftover pretzel-graham cracker crust
- mini peanut butter cups, as needed
Pretzel-Graham Cracker Crust: In a food processor, pulse together pretzels and graham cracker until ground. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add sugar and melted butter. Fold to combine until cracker crumbs are moistened. Divide among mini cheesecake molds, using a rounded tablespoon of crust for each cheesecake. Use a tamper or cocktail muddler to pack crust into mold. Reserve any leftover crust. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Peanut Butter Cheesecake: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and sour cream on low speed until smooth. Slowly add sugar while the machine is running on low. Add the eggs and yolk, one at a time. Scrape down bowl as needed to ensure thorough mixing. Add vanilla, peanut butter, and heavy cream. Mix until smooth and well combined. Evenly divide cheesecake filling among molds. Smooth tops.
Bake for 15-18 minutes. Cheesecake may puff up slightly during baking, but will flatten once cooled. Let baked cheesecake cool to room temperature in pan. Transfer to fridge and let chill for at least 1 hour.
Assembly: Once cheesecakes are chilled throughout, remove mini cheesecakes from mold. Spoon about 1 ½ Tbsp of melted chocolate over cheesecake. Sprinkle leftover crust over chocolate. Top cheesecake with chopped mini peanut butter cups. Serve immediately.
I use this 12-count mini cheesecake mold pan with removable bottoms.
Ingredient Notes:
- I used standard store-bought no-stir peanut butter. (example: Jif, Skippy)
- Use full-fat American cream cheese. Do not use reduced fat cream cheese or Neufchâtel cheese.
Storage and Leftovers:
- Bake cheesecake up two days in advance. Store in the fridge in an airtight container until ready to finish assembly.
- I suggest assembling the cheesecakes right before serving to keep the chocolate melted.
- Store leftover assembled cheesecakes in airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. However, keep in mind that the chocolate will harden in the fridge.