Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars
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These Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars are stuffed with mini Reese’s peanut butter cups for an blissfully decadent treat! They’re creamy and smooth with chocolatey peanut butter flavors. Perfect for parties and potlucks!
There are 3 layers in these bars: a graham cracker base, a peanut butter cheesecake middle, and a chocolate topping. If that weren’t decadent enough, we stuffed them with Reese’s peanut butter cups for good measure!
They’re fun to make and on-so-rich and creamy. We put them out for a Game Day get-together last year and they disappeared in minutes!
How to Make Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars
Start with the graham cracker base. You need to pulverize sheets of graham crackers or use ready-made crumbs. Add melted butter until you get the consistency of wet sand and press into the square baking pan using a water glass.
Next, whip up the cream cheese layer. To avoid lumps, use softened cream cheese and smooth peanut butter. Beat them with sugar and an egg in a mixing bowl until smooth. Then pour on top of the graham cracker base.
Now you’re going to bake the cheesecake layer in a 350°F oven for 20-25 minutes. During this time, you can make the final layer by melting semisweet chocolate with peanut butter, either using a double boiler or in 30-second intervals in the microwave.
Once the cheesecake is baked and has cooled completely, spread the melted chocolate evenly across the top. Then chill to firm up until serving.
Watch Recipe Video:
This video tutorial show how to make these chocolate peanut butter cheesecake bars from start to finish:
More peanut butter and chocolate recipes:
- Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Skillet
- Peanut Butter S’mores Brownies
- Peanut Butter Cup Fudge
View all dessert recipes
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Crust
- 10 tbsp graham cracker crumbs, about 40 crackers
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, 1 stick
- 16 peanut butter cups, regular size
Peanut Butter Cheesecake
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 egg
Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl
- 7 oz semi-sweet chocolate
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8-9 inch square baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a food processor or blender, pulverize the graham crackers until fine. Add the melted butter and mix well. (It should have the consistency of wet sand.)
- Add the graham cracker mixture to the pan, using a water glass to press into the tin.
- Unwrap 16 peanut butter cups and place on top of the graham cracker mixture.
- In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, gradually adding sugar, eggs, and peanut butter, mixing well after each addition. Then add batter into pan.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely.
- Melt 2 tbsp peanut butter in microwave for 30 seconds intervals. Add the chocolate and microwave for 30 seconds intervals, stirring each time until smooth. (Note: You can also do this using a double boiler on the stovetop.)
- Spread the chocolate mixture over peanut butter cheese layer. Add melted peanut butter on top and use a knife to create swirls on the surface according to the video.
- Refrigerate for 2 hours. Let it sit 10 minutes at room temperature before cutting and serving.
Please read our nutrition disclaimer.
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Can you double this recipe & use a 9×13 pan?
Hi Susan, Thanks for your great question. The answer is yes, you can definitely double it in a 9×13 pan. Hope that helps and good luck!