Sweet & Salty Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

This peanut butter chocolate chip cheesecake hits all the right notes in the best ways. Creamy vanilla cheesecake, studded with peanut butter and milk chocolate chips, with a peanut butter cookie crust.

At the cheesecake factory, how many kinds of their cheesecake have you tried? Honestly, I almost always get the same one. I know it’s good and the menu is a bit overwhelming. I haven’t been to one of those restaurants in about many years but, the white chocolate raspberry has always been my favorite. Considering I have tried maybe two other kinds; we should use that term loosely.

When I’m baking cheesecake at home, I’m much more adventurous. I have so many ideas of what sounds good together. Most people enjoy chocolate and peanut butter together. It’s a great combination but sometimes can be very rich. So, this peanut butter chocolate chip cheesecake was born. I wanted some chocolate but not just a chocolate cheesecake. Hence, vanilla-ish cheesecake with chocolate chips. The peanut butter crust adds a little salty and a little sweet.

Baking Tips & Notes

I like baking my cheesecakes in an 8 inch pan so they are a little bit thicker. A lot of springform pans are 9 inch though. I usually use a Fat Daddio’s removeable bottom pan.

With a cheesecake, if you care about the aesthetics at all, I always recommend using a water bath. I always am more successful with having a cheesecake that isn’t cracked when I do it. However, if you don’t care about anything but taste it’s perfectly acceptable to skip. If you choose to use a water bath, personally I like to use either the double pan method or oven safe bags around my cheesecake pan to prevent any leaks.

Now, even with a water bath, I have baked this cheesecake and had it crack a little bit. Maybe it was a little overbaked, or maybe it was because it cooled first around a bigger chunk of chocolate, I’m not positive, but either way the cheesecake tasted delicious. You can always hide a crack with some whipped cream!

The cheesecake cooling process is just as important as the baking process. When the cheesecake is ready – firm edge with a jiggly center (that’s the official word), shut off your oven and leave the cheesecake in there. If your oven door doesn’t stay open a small amount, try using a wooden spoon to prop it open. This cooling like this will also help with cracks. We want the cheesecake to finish baking with residual heat as well as not experience a temperature shock. When you do move to the refrigerator, don’t cover it for it’s initial chill (that will create condensation on the surface). Once you’ve cut in and eat, feel free to at that point.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Key Ingredients

• Peanut butter cookies – I used and prefer Nutter Butters but I’m sure if there is a different kind you prefer they should work.
• Milk chocolate chips – I originally tried this with mini semi-sweet chocolate chips because I didn’t want the cheesecake to be too sweet. However, it actually turned out quite bitter. I would recommend using milk chocolate chips. If you use semi sweet or dark, probably use a little bit less and use full size over mini. Additionally, I added peanut butter chips to the recipe as well and roughly chopped them so some bits were very small and others were larger.
• Heavy cream – Some cheesecake recipes call for sour cream for extra tang but I like the creaminess that plain heavy cream gives the texture. It’s so smooth and dreamy.