Chocolate Peanut Butter Layer Dessert
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This chocolate peanut butter layer dessert is packed full of flavor! There’s a sweet and salty pretzel crust, a peanut butter cheesecake layer, chocolate pudding, hot fudge, and whipped cream. Add a drizzle of peanut butter on top with some chocolate curls! Peanut butter desserts don’t get tastier than this one!
Peanut Butter Desserts
So I feel like people love layered desserts and I want to make what people like. That’s why for this month’s peanut butter desserts bash, I made a chocolate peanut butter layer dessert with loads of layers.
The theme this month is peanut butter and pretzels. Of course, I can’t help but add chocolate into most peanut butter desserts. It’s a habit that I have that I’m not anxious to change. They belong together.
This layered dessert recipe doesn’t take long to throw together. I’ll admit it does dirty a couple of dishes, but really it’s not bad at all. I would say two bowls if you reuse the bowls for the next steps. I’m known to do that because I hate washing dishes. Even with a dishwasher. Hate it.
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Chocolate Peanut Butter Layer Dessert Ingredients
So I wanted to tell you about all of these layers in this dessert.
- First layer up is the pretzel crust with butter and sugar.
- Second layer is a peanut butter cheesecake mousse.
- Third is a chocolate pudding.
- Fourth is a jar of hot fudge drizzled all over that pudding.
- Fifth layer is whipped topping.
- Then you can add some garnishes.. or not. I’m cool with either.
I was inspired to make the pretzel crust because of pretzel salad. I LOVE pretzel salad. It’s sweet, salty, creamy, jiggly and basically perfection.
Have you noticed that either people really love the pretzel salad or really hate it? It makes me giggle. I personally could eat it every day but my dad about tosses his groceries just looking at it.
Other favorite pretzel desserts of mine:
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake
- Sweet and Salty Caramel Pretzel Sundaes
- Pretzel No-Bakes
- Chocolate Stout and Pretzel Cookies
Chocolate Peanut Butter Layer Dessert
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Ingredients
Pretzel Crust
- 2 1/2 cups pretzels crushed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup butter melted
Peanut Butter Cheesecake Filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup heavy cream whipped to stiff peaks
Chocolate Pudding
- 5.85 ounce box instant chocolate pudding family size
- 2 cups whole milk
- 11.75 ounce jar hot fudge topping
- 8 ounces whipped topping thawed
- 1 1/2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a 9×13 pan, add in the crushed 2 1/2 cups pretzels, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and melted 3/4 cup butter. Stir to coat all the pretzels in the melted butter.
- Firmly press the crushed pretzels into the pan.
- Place into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Begin working on the cheesecake filling.
Peanut Butter Cheesecake Filling
- In a medium bowl, add in the 8 ounces cream cheese, 1 cup creamy peanut butter, and 1 tablespoon butter Beat on medium/high until light and fluffy.
- Add in the 1 cup granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Beat until incorporated.
- Add in a quarter of the whipped cream and fold it into the cream cheese mixture. This will lighten up the mixture before adding the remaining whipped cream and deflating it all.
- Add in the remaining whipped cream and carefully fold it in.
- Spread the filling into the cooled crust. Be sure to get to all of the edges of the crust. Seal off any holes on the edges to prevent the pudding from seeping through and making our pretzel crust soggy.
Chocolate Pudding
- In a mixing bowl, add in the 5.85 ounce box instant chocolate pudding mix and 2 cups whole milk. Using a handmixer, beat on medium until incorporated. Let thicken about 5 minutes before spreading on top of the cheesecake layer.
- Spread the pudding evenly over top of the peanut butter cream cheese layer. Be sure to get to the edges.
- Remove the lid from the 11.75 ounce jar hot fudge topping and microwave for 45 seconds. Stir well.
- Scoop all of the fudge topping into a sandwich bag. Cut a small hole out of the corner of the sandwich bag.
- Drizzle the hot fudge topping all over the top of the pudding. I started from the corner and drizzled back and forth until everything was covered.
- Spread the thawed 8 ounces whipped topping all over the top of the dessert. Again, make sure to take the topping all the way over to the edges.
- Add the 1 1/2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter into a sandwich bag. Place into the microwave for about 20 seconds. Squish it around in your hand to make sure it’s all runny.
- Cut a small hole in the corner of the sandwich bag. Drizzle peanut butter on top of the dessert. I drizzled one direction all the way across the dessert and then drizzled in the opposite direction all the way across.
Notes
Nutrition
(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)
Join us in the peanut butter desserts fun over at The Peanut Butter Recipe Box Facebook Group! We would love to see you there! Check out the recipes we made while you’re at it!
Peanut Butter Pretzel Poke Cake from Kleinworth & Co.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Layer Dessert from Cookie Dough and Oven Mitt
Cups of pretzel measured before or after crushing?
How many days will it be ok? Can I make on Tuesday & will be ok for Thursday?
You can but I recommend not adding whipped topping to it till before serving, as it will break down a bit. I recommend making just 24 hours ahead of when you want to serve it up.
What could be better!!
Amen!
Perhaps you did mention the size of the dish to be used for this recipe, but I did not see it; I repeatedly tried to guess the pan’s dimensions from the picture (not a full picture on my screen). I would appreciate your response and shall thank you in advance. Greer
It is a 9×13 pan
Very easy to put together and tastes wonderful. The only criticism from my family was the crust was too hard, I thought it was fine, but I’m outnumbered haha! Maybe it was my error, but I followed the recipe.