Mini Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecakes have a whole chocolate peanut butter candy in every creamy baked portion. The base is crisp with a thin chocolate cookie crust, and a small dollop of ganache on top gives a soft chocolate finish.
You can make all twelve in a regular muffin pan. The key is to use wrapped miniature peanut butter cups, center one on each crust and cover it completely with peanut butter cheesecake batter before baking. Cool cakes completely so liners slip off easily and the candy center shows when cut.
Table of Contents
Why These Mini Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecakes Work
These baked peanut butter mini cheesecakes have a more defined, custardy texture than the site’s no-bake version. Eggs set the filling in the oven, while a modest amount of peanut butter flavors it without turning the cheesecake heavy or pasty.
The candy sits on a thin, prebaked chocolate crumb base, not a replaced crust. The cup is a separate center, not touching the liner or baking into an exposed puddle but surrounded and covered with spoonfuls of batter.
When cakes are cool, thin ganache is applied. It adds a chocolate finish, but the peanut butter cheesecake and hidden cup are the main attractions.
Mini Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecakes
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- At 325°F, bake fine chocolate-cookie crumbs mixed with butter in twelve lined muffin cups for 5 minutes.
- Beat softened block cream cheese smooth, then add sugar, peanut butter, sour cream, vanilla, and salt. Add eggs on low only until blended.
- Center one unwrapped miniature cup on every crust. Spoon batter around and over it until the candy is covered and liners are roughly three-quarters full.
- Bake 18 to 22 minutes until edges are set and centers wobble gently. Cool 45 minutes, then refrigerate at least 2 hours.
- Pour steaming cream over chopped chocolate, rest 2 minutes, then stir. When just warm, spoon about 1 teaspoon onto each cold, unlined cheesecake, add optional chopped peanut butter cups, and chill 15 minutes.
Notes
- Refrigerate covered for up to 4 days. Add the ganache up to one day before serving for the cleanest appearance.
- Freeze fully chilled cheesecakes without ganache in an airtight container for up to 1 month; thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then top.
- Do not reheat. Serve chilled or let stand at cool room temperature for 10 minutes.
Ingredient Notes
- Wrapped miniature peanut butter cups: Choose the individually wrapped miniature size, about 1 inch wide, not the tiny unwrapped baking minis. These peanut butter cup cheesecake bites have one recognizable center each.
- Creamy peanut butter: A conventional shelf-stable creamy peanut butter blends more predictably than a separated natural style. Stir it in only after the cream cheese is smooth.
- Full-fat block cream cheese: Soften the blocks until a finger makes an easy dent. Tub-style spread can make the filling too loose.
- Chocolate sandwich cookies: Crush the whole cookies, filling included, and keep the crumb layer thin so it does not crowd out the hidden candy.
- Semisweet chocolate and cream: Finely chop the chocolate so hot cream melts it evenly. Let the ganache cool before it touches the chilled cakes.
How to Make Mini Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecakes
Prepare a compact cookie base, mix the filling gently, enclose one cup in each portion, then bake and chill before topping.
Total time: 3 hours and 49 minutes
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Press and prebake the crusts
At 325°F, bake fine chocolate-cookie crumbs mixed with butter in twelve lined muffin cups for 5 minutes.
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Mix a smooth peanut butter filling
Beat softened block cream cheese smooth, then add sugar, peanut butter, sour cream, vanilla, and salt. Add eggs on low only until blended.
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Enclose the peanut butter cups
Center one unwrapped miniature cup on every crust. Spoon batter around and over it until the candy is covered and liners are roughly three-quarters full.
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Bake, cool, and chill
Bake 18 to 22 minutes until edges are set and centers wobble gently. Cool 45 minutes, then refrigerate at least 2 hours.
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Add a thin chocolate finish
Pour steaming cream over chopped chocolate, rest 2 minutes, then stir. When just warm, spoon about 1 teaspoon onto each cold, unlined cheesecake, add optional chopped peanut butter cups, and chill 15 minutes.
That’s where a standard 12-cup muffin tin comes in. There is not enough room in a mini muffin pan for a wrapped miniature candy and batter. Press the cookie crumbs flat with the base of a small glass so that each portion has a stable platform.
Scrape down the bowl before adding eggs. Once they are in, switch the mixer to low and stop mixing as soon as the batter looks even. The extra air causes the small cheesecakes to dome more dramatically in the oven and sink as they cool.
When you portion the batter, be sure no chocolate edge is peeking out. Fill the liner about three-quarters full, with enough filling above the cup to hide it. Look at the 18 minute point. A loose ripple across the whole cake needs a minute or two more; a little soft wobble in the middle is ready to cool.
Cool the pan, uncovered, then refrigerate. Cold cakes come out of paper more cleanly and give the ganache a surface that will not melt into the filling. A light spoonful of ganache, not a thick cap.
Storage and Make-Ahead
Refrigerator
Up to 4 daysKeep covered and add ganache up to one day before serving.
Freezer
Up to 1 monthFreeze without ganache; thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Serving
ChilledFor a softer bite, rest 10 minutes at cool room temperature.
Frequently Asked Questions
Save These Baked Peanut Butter Mini Cheesecakes
Save this recipe for a birthday dessert tray, potluck, or any day that calls for individual chocolate-peanut-butter cheesecake.
