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!
Servings: 20 mini cheesecakes
Equipment
- mini cheesecake mold pan
Ingredients
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
Instructions
- 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.
Notes
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.