Love the combination of chocolate and peanut? You've to try these Mini Peanut Butter Cheesecakes with crisp chocolate cookie cups filled with peanut butter cream cheese. These mini desserts are perfect for when you want to whip up a nice sweet treat for the whole family or a house party you’re hosting. These come together quickly for a delightful cross between cheesecakes and cupcakes.
The last time I made my chocolate layered peanut cups, everyone went crazy. And it wasn’t just about how they looked, but more about how peanut butter and chocolate together make such a hit combination.
So of course, I had to put it to use for other recipes too, and I did! My triple chocolate caramel peanut butter cookies turned out a big hit as well, and so did these mini cheesecake cups.
Why You’ll Love This Mini Peanut Butter Cheesecakes Recipe
- Bite-sized: These individual mini-sized treats make serving so much easier than having to perfectly slice a whole cheesecake.
- Indulgent dessert: Super creamy and rich, just like a classic cheesecake.
- Simple ingredients: An easy dessert crafted using just pantry staples. No fancy stuff or trips to the supermarket.
- Perfect for parties: Great to make ahead of time and serve at parties or get-togethers.
Ingredients
- Butter: Use salted, softened butter to begin with. If you’re using unsalted butter, you might want to add a pinch of salt into the mix to enhance the flavor.
- Sugar: I used a mix of regular white sugar and brown sugar (for that extra flavor). Feel free to use white sugar only if that’s what you have.
- Eggs: Start with large, room-temperature eggs.
- Vanilla: To tie all the flavors together and for that delicate sweetness.
- Cream cheese: Use full-fat cream cheese for best results. Get it out of the refrigerator at least an hour before you begin the recipe.
- Heavy cream: To team up with the cream cheese and make the filling light and fluffy.
- Flour: Just your regular all-purpose flour.
- Cocoa: For the chocolatey flavor. Use the best quality cocoa powder to make the flavor shine!
- Baking soda: To help the cheesecake dessert cups rise.
- Chocolate chips: I used mini chocolate chips, but you could use the regular-sized ones if that’s what you have.
- Peanut butter: Use the best quality natural peanut butter you can get your hands on. The creamy version works best!
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations
- Graham cracker fix: On a time crunch? Layer crushed graham crackers mix with some butter in the individual cups, and then top them with the cream cheese mixture!
- Nut butter swap: Swap the peanut butter in the recipe for cashew butter or almond butter to bring in a flavor variation.
- Nut fun: Amp up the texture and deliciousness of these mini cheesecakes by topping them with regular or candied nuts of your choice. Peanuts, walnuts, and pecans are good choices.
- No-bake swap: Make no-bake cheesecake cups by layering crushed cookies mixed with some butter into individual cups. Oreos, Biscoff cookies and Digestive biscuits are great options to crush up for a crust.
- Reese's cheesecake cups: Chop up some Reese's peanut butter cups and garnish the tops with them.
How to Make Mini Peanut Butter Cheesecakes
Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and getting all your ingredients handy.
Step 1: Cream Butter and Sugar. Cream the butter, sugar and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla to the bowl and mix well. In a small bowl, mix hot water with baking soda, and then add it in too.
Step 2: Mix the Dry Ingredients. Combine the cocoa, flour, chocolate chips and salt in another bowl, and add it into the mix.
Step 3: Mix it Up. Stir to combine all the ingredients.
Step 4: Roll and bake. Portion the cooking dough it out into balls and place them in the sections of a muffin tin. Bake for 15 minutes and remove.
Step 5: Make muffin cups. Use a shot glass to press down into the center of each section and gently remove to make a cookie cup. Allow this to cool on a wire rack.
Step 6: Prepare cheesecake filling. Combine cream cheese, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla and peanut butter using a stand mixer.
Step 7: Fill up the cups. Use a small spoon to fill up each cookie cup with this cheesecake filling, and top with mini chocolate chips.
Step 8: Chill and serve. Allow the cookie cups to chill for a few hours and then serve!
Hint: If you left the cream cheese out for too long, and it has turned softer than you’d like, cream it using a hand blender for about 30 seconds.
And that's all there is to it! Lots of steps but not a lot of work. When you break them down, this recipe is all about doing little things in sequence. That's a pretty easy thing to do.
If you enjoyed this recipe, you may also enjoy these Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups, Chocolate Mousse Pie, Can't Get Enough of that Golden Crisp Squares, Brownie Cheesecake, Old-Fashioned Peanut Brittle or Blueberry Cheesecake Bars recipes!
Storage Directions
- Storing: Refrigerate leftover mini peanut butter cheesecakes for up to 4 days. Pop them in an airtight container and hold a layer of kitchen paper towel on the underside of the lid, securing it in place. This will help absorb any moisture, and keep the cheesecakes perfect.
- Freezing: Want these peanut butter cheesecake cups to last longer? You can freeze them for up to a month. First, arrange them on a tray and freeze them until they’re solid. Then, transfer them to a heavy-duty freezer bag or freezer-safe container. Don't freeze them for longer than a month, as being frozen for an extended period will change the texture of the filling.
Serving Suggestions
These chocolate peanut butter cheesecake bites are a great end to pretty much any meal but also make a bite-size treat for game day events, parties, and bake sales.
When I’m entertaining, I love serving them as a dessert after a hearty meal of my Mexican meatloaf or my favorite baked cheesy salsa chicken.
And of course, you can also enjoy them as an indulgent snack at any time of the day when you’re hit by a craving for something sweet. Pair them with a savory snack like ham and cheese pinwheels or cream cheese salsa dip.
Recipe Tips
- Start at room temperature: Make sure all your key ingredients- eggs, butter, and cream cheese are at room temperature. This makes an enormous difference in how the cheesecake filling turns out making it silky and smooth.
- Chill them: Let the mini cheesecakes rest for at least 3-4 hours and set completely before you serve them.
- Choose full-fat: Remember to use full-fat cream cheese and heavy cream here for the perfect rich and creamy cheesecake filling.
Recipe FAQs
You don’t! Since these cheesecakes are pretty small, they cook quickly and don’t lose out on any moisture too.
Not really with this recipe but this chocolate peanut butter cheesecake uses the same flavor combination so I'd recommend trying it instead.
More Delicious Cheesecake Recipes
Do you love cheesecake? Here are some recipes you may also like to try!
Ready to get cooking? Remember that you can print this recipe if you would like.
Mini Peanut Butter Cheesecakes
Equipment
- muffin pan (12 hole)
- Hand mixer or stand mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons hot water
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cocoa
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ Cups mini chocolate chips Ghirardelli or equivalent
Cheesecake Filling
- 1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese softened
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips, melted Ghirardelli brand or equivalent
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, sugar and brown sugar. Mix until smooth and creamy, and no lumps remain.
- Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well.
- Place baking soda in the hot water, and dissolve. Then add to mixture.
- In a separate bowl, blend together the flour, salt, cocoa, and chocolate chips. Add to mixing bowl, and on low speed blend all the ingredients.
- Roll cookie dough into large balls, and place each ball in a muffin tin compartment.
- Put muffin tin in the oven, and let dough bake for 15 minutes. Remove.
- With a shot glass, press down the center of each cookie dough ball, pressing up the sides to form a cookie cup. The dough will stick to the shot glass. Gently push dough off of the shot glass and onto a wire rack to cool. Repeat until all the dough has been used.
Cheesecake Filling
- Once cookie cups have cooled, make the cheesecake filling. In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, add the softened cream cheese, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla and peanut butter. Mix until smooth and creamy.
- Using a small spoon, fill the centers of the cookie cups with the cheesecake filling. Sprinkle a few of mini chocolate chips on top of each cookie cup.
- Place the cookie cups in a container, in a single layer, and refrigerate until set; about 4 hours.
- Serve and enjoy every bite!
Notes
- Start at room temperature: Make sure all your key ingredients- eggs, butter, and cream cheese are at room temperature. This makes an enormous difference in how the cheesecake filling turns out making it silky and smooth.
- Chill them: Let the mini cheesecakes rest for at least 3-4 hours and set completely before you serve them.
- Choose full-fat: Remember to use full-fat cream cheese and heavy cream here for the perfect rich and creamy cheesecake filling.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in August 2021. It has been updated with new content and images.
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