A decadent treat for the holidays, we suggest reserving this recipe for special occasions as it is quite time consuming.  However, it will definitely be a crowd pleaser!  We've adapted this recipe from the original Martha Stewart recipe which you can find here. 

INGREDIENTS

• Total time: 9 hours

• Prep time: 1 hour

Crust

• Vegetable-oil cooking spray

• 1 cup finely ground chocolate wafer cookies (4 ounces)

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

• 2 tablespoons sugar

Filling

• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate (55 to 61 percent cacao), finely chopped

• 4 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, room temperature

• 1 1/2 cups sugar

• Pinch of coarse salt

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 4 large eggs, room temperature

• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

Chocolate Glaze         

• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (61 percent to 70 percent cacao), finely chopped (3/4 cup)

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

• 1 tablespoon whole milk

• 2 teaspoons light corn syrup

Topping

• 1 package of mini Reese’s peanut butter cups

DIRECTIONS for Cheesecake

1. Crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Wrap bottom and outside of a 9-inch springform pan with a double layer of foil. (this is necessary to prevent leakage) Coat bottom of pan with cooking spray, and line with parchment paper cut to fit the bottom of the pan. Spray parchment paper

2. Stir together cookie crumbs, butter, and sugar in a medium bowl. Press mixture firmly into bottom of pan,(use the bottom of a measuring cup to press down) and bake until firm, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on wire rack.

3. Filling: Melt chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. (do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water as this will burn the chocolate) Let cool. Beat cream cheese with a mixer (use paddle attachment) on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and beat in sugar in a slow, steady stream until combined. Beat in salt and vanilla until thoroughly combined and completely smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time, scraping bowl between each addition and beating just until combined after each addition (do not over-mix).

4. Divide cream-cheese filling in half. Stir peanut butter into 1 half; stir melted chocolate into other half. Ladle peanut butter filling into center of crust, and tap pan gently on counter to settle. Smooth out to crust with a spatula. Put into the freezer for 5-7 minutes to just set the filling. Ladle chocolate filling directly on top of peanut butter filling and spread evenly out to the edges.

5. Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Set cake pan in a large roasting pan, and transfer to oven. Carefully pour boiling water into roasting pan to reach halfway up sides of cake pan. Bake until cake is set but still slightly wobbly in center, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on wire rack. Refrigerate cake in pan until cold, at least 6 hours, up to overnight covering with a cloth. Before un-molding, run a knife around edge of cake.

DIRECTIONS for Glaze

1. Melt chocolate and butter in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in milk and corn syrup. Use immediately.

2. Make the chocolate glaze and immediately pour glaze over top of cake starting in the center , smoothing with an offset spatula and letting it drip down the sides. Cut mini peanut butter cups in half and pile in the middle of the cheesecake.

If you are a peanut butter chocolate lover, which we definitely are, we have a few other recipes recipes to share. These are also easier recipes if you don't have the time to tackle this cheesecake just yet.  These are some of our favorite youtube channels to follow and you can watch the recipes being made as well.  We hope you feel up to our cheesecake challenge shortly! It's WORTH IT!