Reese’s Cheesecake
Reese’s Cheesecake is a must-make for all you chocolate and peanut butter lovers. A decadent, rich cheesecake, it’s loaded with chocolate and peanut butter and Reese’s cups to create a chocolate peanut butter delight you’ll love.
We love cheesecakes of all kinds. No-bake, baked, traditional, fruity, chocolaty – you name it, we love it. We’ve probably made it, too! One cheesecake that routinely gets rave reviews from family and friends is our Reese’s cheesecake.
This cheesecake is super-rich and full of chocolate and peanut butter flavor. It’s baked in the oven, but it doesn’t require a lot of hoops to jump through like a lot of cheesecake recipes, so it’s a lot easier than you’d think. Oh, and once you taste it, you’ll be hooked for life!
Table of contents
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s a rich, decadent cheesecake full of classic peanut butter and chocolate flavor.
- It’s a relatively easy baked cheesecake recipe.
- It uses simple ingredients you can find at any grocery store.
- It’s ALWAYS a hit.
🛒Ingredients
This recipe uses simple ingredients that you can find at any grocery store or in your kitchen. There’s nothing fancy to this delicious recipe!
All the ingredients you need for this delicious cheesecake are listed here, but you can find the exact amounts in the recipe card at the end of the post.
For the Crust
- Oreo cookies
- Butter – melted
Cheesecake
- Cream cheese – softened
- Eggs
- Brown sugar – packed
- Creamy peanut butter
- Heavy whipping cream
- Vanilla extract
For the Topping
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Heavy whipping cream
- Reese’s Minis
🔪 How to Make Reese’s Cheesecake
Making this cheesecake might seem daunting at first, but if you follow the recipe step by step, you’ll quickly realize that it’s much easier than you might think! Just follow along, and you’ll have a delicious treat in no time!
Step 1: Make the Crust
Finely crush the Oreos in a food processor. Then, add the melted butter and pulse until well combined.
Pour the mixture into a 9-inch springform pan and use the bottom of a glass or measuring cup to gently but firmly press the mixture evenly across the bottom of the pan and about halfway up the sides.
Step 2: Chill
Place the crust in the refrigerator to chill while you make the cheesecake filling.
Step 3: Make the Cheesecake
Beat the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Then, add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until just combined between each addition. Add the brown sugar, peanut butter, heavy cream, and vanilla extract and beat again until combined.
Step 4: Prep for Baking
Remove the springform pan from the refrigerator and wrap the bottom and sides well with foil to create a barrier against the water bath you’ll be using. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Add the cheesecake batter to the pan with the crust and spread it into an even layer. Then, place the pan in a larger pan and add about 1 inch of hot water to the larger pan.
Step 5: Bake
Bake the cheesecake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Then, turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside for another hour.
Step 6: Cool
After an hour, remove the cheesecake and let it cool to room temperature.
Step 7: Make the Ganache
Microwave the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a microwaveable bowl for 30 seconds. Stir, then continue to microwave at 20-second intervals, stirring between each, until the ganache is smooth.
Step 8: Decorate and Chill
Pour the ganache over the cooled cheesecake and spread evenly with a spoon. Then, sprinkle the top with Reese’s Minis. Chill until ready to serve.
📝Variations
- Reese’s Minis – You can cut up regular Reese’s Cups to use in place of Minis.
- Oreos – Any brand of chocolate sandwich cookie will work.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate: Create different flavor profiles by using semi-sweet, milk, or dark chocolate chips.
If you think this cheesecake sounds good, we think you’ll love our peanut butter cheesecake recipe.
🥄 Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowl
- Microwaveable bowl
- Hand mixer
- 9-inch springform pan
- Foil
🥫 Storage
Refrigerate this cheesecake in an air-tight container for up to 4 days. For longer storage, wrap slices in plastic wrap and freeze them for up to a month in an air-tight container or heavy-duty freezer bags.
What to Serve with Reese’s Cheesecake
Serve this cheesecake with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee or tea. It’s also delicious when paired with a dessert wine for a fancier experience. Fresh berries also make a great accompaniment to the cheesecake.
💭 Tips
- Wrap your pan extremely well with foil to prevent water from seeping into it.
- If you need to use more than one piece of foil, be sure to fold the ends together to create a seam.
- Don’t overmix your cheesecake batter. Mix until just combined to keep the cheesecake light and fluffy.
⁉️ FAQ
Do you have questions about this recipe? Here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions.
Cheesecake is a dessert made with cream cheese, eggs, and sugar as a base and various other ingredients used to change the flavor or top the cheesecake. They can have a crust or no crust.
Cheesecake isn’t a cake or a pie. Technically speaking, a cheesecake is actually a tart.
A water bath isn’t required to bake a cheesecake, but it makes for a better outcome. The water bath keeps the interior of the oven humid, which keeps the cheesecake from cracking.
🍽 More Recipes
Do you enjoy Reese’s? Then try these delicious recipes:
🧾Recipe Card
Want to make this recipe? Print the recipe card below, or pin this recipe so that you can find it later.
Reese’s Cheesecake
Equipment
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Mixing Bowl
- Microwaveable Bowl
- Hand mixer
- 9 inch springform pan
- Foil
Ingredients
Crust Ingredient
- 30 Oreo cookies
- 6 tablespoons butter melted
Cheesecake:
- 32 ounces cream cheese 4 packages, softened
- 5 eggs
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar packed
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 8 ounces Reese’s Minis
Instructions
- Use a food processor to finely crush the Oreos. Add the melted butter and pulse a few times until well combined.
- Pour the Oreo crumb mixture into a 9-inch springform pan. Use the bottom of a glass or measuring cup to gently press the crumbs out evenly on the bottom of the pan and about halfway up the sides.
- Place the pan in the refrigerator to chill the crust while you move on to the next steps.
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing just until incorporated between each addition.
- Add the brown sugar, peanut butter, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Mix just until combined, but do not over-mix.
- Remove the crust from the refrigerator. Wrap the bottom and sides of the pan very well with aluminum foil. If two pieces of foil are needed to be wide enough to cover the bottom and sides of the pan, be sure to fold the foil together very well at the overlap; you don’t want any spaces open where water could seep through.
- Scoop the cheesecake batter into the crust and use a spoon or spatula to spread out evenly edge to edge.
- Place the pan into a larger rectangular or square pan. Pour hot water (can be hot tap water) into that pan to 1 inch depth (the water should come part way up the sides of the foil wrapped springform pan but not go over the edge or leak through the foil barrier.
- Bake the cheesecake at 325F for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in for another hour.
- Remove the cheesecake from the oven and cool to room temperature.
- In a medium microwave safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips and heavy cream and heat on high for 30 seconds. Sir well, then continue heating in 20 second intervals until fully melted; stir until smooth.
- Pour the chocolate ganache over the top of the cheesecake and use a spoon or spatula to smooth out evenly.
- Sprinkle the Reese’s Minis all over the top of the cheesecake.
- Chill until serving.
