Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake

My oldest child had her birthday yesterday.  She detests cake, she really does.  No biggy she loves cheesecake and that's a pretty easy one to pull off.  Her order this year was "candy cheese cake".  TH is that?  We talked a bit and came up with peanut butter cheese cake with mini peanut butter cup candies baked into it and as garnish.  WINNER.  Even the cheesecake hater in the house loved this one.

The interwebs were filled with recipes for peanut butter cheese cake, but the crusts were just wrong for what we wanted.  This recipe is a combo of several plus my favorite stand by crust.  Tasty for sure.

Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake

• 3 c Oreo or similar chocolate creme cookie crumbles
• 1 stick butter
• pinch of salt
• 2 lb cream cheese
• 1 c peanut butter
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 2 t vanilla
• 2 T corn starch
• 4 eggs
• pinch of salt
• 2 8 oz bags of mini peanut butter candies
• chocolate syrup

Preheat oven to 350F

Put cookie crumbles and salt in food processor.  Pulse until fine crumbs are created. Drizzle butter over the running processor until all butter incorporated.   Pat into bottom and up 1 inch on the side of a 9" X 3" tall spring form pan.  Bake 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool.

Put sugar, corn starch, room temperature cream cheese, peanut butter and vanilla in the mixing bowl.  Attach whisk and beat until smooth.  Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time, beating until each is just incorporated.

Spray inside of the spring form pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Line outside of pan with aluminum foil.  Place prepared spring form into a large pan or roaster. Sprinkle 1 8oz bag of peanut butter candies over the chocolate cookie crust.  Add cream cheese mixture to the spring form pan.  Place in oven.  Fill roaster with hot water about half way up the side of the spring form pan.

Bake 2 hours at 350f.  This cheesecake's top burns easily so you need to keep watch on it.  AT about 1 hour, 1 hour 20 minutes it will be golden brown.  At that point cover loosely with aluminum foil and continue baking.  At end of baking time, turn off oven and crack open the oven door.  Let sit in cooling oven for an hour.  At end of hour put on cooling rack and cool to room temperature.  When room temperature remove sides of spring form pan and then chill in refrigerator.

To serve, garnish with a drizzle of chocolate syrup and add few mini peanut butter cup candies from the remaining bag.

golden brown top prevented from burning with aluminum foil