This peanut butter and jelly cheesecake is rich and creamy! There are pockets of strawberry jam inside the cheesecake, so when you cut into it, jam comes slowly oozing out. My favorite part of this cheesecake is the peanut butter and jelly topping. It's fun and quite pretty!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Dean’s DairyPure® Sour Cream. The opinions and text are all mine.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Cheesecake
This cheesecake is my perfect dessert. It's a cheesecake (one of my favorite desserts ever) and it's made of peanut butter and jelly. Hello, nostalgia! These two things were meant to be together. I know you'll agree, especially after you try it.
I've been on quite the peanut butter and jelly kick as of late, so when I decided to create a dessert with Dean’s DairyPure® Sour Cream I immediately thought PB and J. I started with a peanut butter cheesecake. It has a BIG punch of peanut butter flavor and is rich and creamy. I added a hefty amount of peanut butter because nothing is worse than a bland peanut butter dessert.
Then I piped pockets of strawberry jam throughout the cheesecake batter. Since the cheesecake is dense, it doesn't allow the jam to ooze all over and create a huge mess within the cheesecake. If you don't like strawberry jam, use your preferred kind. I haven't tried using homemade jams in this recipe, but any store-bought should work well.
Can you see the brown top peeking through the jam? This cheesecake took an exceptionally long time to bake. The top of the cheesecake browned up before it was ever done baking and that's okay. You'll see that nice browned top in the video. I needed something a little more appealing for the photos though. I think I pulled it off too. Whew!
Can we talk about this sour cream for a minute? It tastes so fresh! It's the sour cream you want to use when you're adding it to the top of a baked potato. Deans DairyPure® has an exclusive 5-point promise on all of their products including the sour cream and heavy cream! That means there are no artificial growth hormones, the milk is tested for antibiotics and continually quality tested, the milk comes from local cows with a healthy diet, and lastly, the products are cold-shipped to your local store. By the way, I found my sour cream at the Dollar General.
How to make Peanut Butter and Jelly Cheesecake
Peanut Butter and Jelly Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- ¼ cup salted peanuts chopped
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons butter melted
Cheesecake
- 20 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1 ½ cups creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup full-fat sour cream
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup strawberry jam
Topping
- ¼ cup strawberry jam
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat oven to 325. Spray the sides of the 9.5-inch springform pan with nonstick baking spray. Wrap the sides of the pan with a strip of parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, add the graham cracker crumbs, peanuts, sugar, and melted butter. Stir until the butter coats all the crumbs.
- Press the crumbs evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool while you work on the cheesecake filling.
Cheesecake
- In a large mixing bowl, add in the cream cheese and peanut butter. Beat with a hand mixer on medium until smooth.
- Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat until completely incorporated. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add in the vanilla extract and then the eggs one at a time. Beat in each egg completely before adding the next. Scrape down the bowl after incorporating each egg.
- Add in the sour cream and heavy cream. Beat until incorporated.
- Just before adding the cheesecake mixture, wrap the outside of the springform pan with 2 layers of heavy-duty tin foil.
- Pour the cheesecake filling on top of the crust.
- Add the strawberry jam into a disposable piping bag or storage bag. Cut a hole in the tip big enough to push bits of strawberry through it. Push the piping bag into the cheesecake batter and squeeze jam into the cheesecake. Repeat until the jam is all piped into the cheesecake.
- Place the springform pan in a slightly larger baking pan. Fill the outer pan with 1 inch of water. This will keep the cheesecake from cracking.
- Place in the oven at 325 degrees and let bake for 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours or until done. The top of the cheesecake will be brown. To make sure the cheesecake is done, gently give it a wiggle. If it slightly jiggles in JUST the middle like jello, then it's done. If it jiggles all over, it needs to bake longer. Turn off the heat and crack the oven door slightly. Let it cool in the oven for 1 to 2 hours until it reaches room temperature and then place in the fridge to chill overnight.
Topping
- Add the jam into a small mixing bowl. Stir the jam until it loosens up and will easily spread. Spread the jam on top of the cheesecake.
- Add the peanut butter into a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 15 seconds and stir. This will thin the peanut butter out. Add the peanut butter into a disposable piping bag/sandwich bag. Cut a small hole into the piping bag/sandwich bag. Drizzle the peanut butter on top of the strawberry jam.
Nutrition
(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) says
I love the idea!!
Miranda says
Thank you!
Amanda says
This sounds incredible! Love my peanut butter and jelly. But cheesecake? Oh my goodness!!! You have really taken it over the top!
Michelle Gwynn Jones says
My favorite part of this recipe is the little pockets of jam - sweet little surprises.
Miranda says
Mine too!
Brian says
Top burnt before it stopped being jiggly. Followed every direction to a T. Wouldn't use this recipe.
Miranda says
Hi Brian. The cheesecake top does brown up similar to a New York Style, but I've never had it burn. I would recommend making sure it's on the middle rack of your oven and tent it with a piece of foil to help keep it from over-browning. Another option you could try is using a larger springform pan so it bakes quicker for you.
Melissa says
How would I make this into mini cheesecakes?
Miranda C. says
Hi Melissa! To make mini cheesecakes, line a cupcake pan with paper cupcake wrappers. Divide the crust, cheesecake filling and topping between the paper cups. The mini cheesecakes will only bake for about an hour rather than the hour and 45 min as directed in the recipe (smaller cheesecakes bake faster!). The recipe will make about 18 mini cheesecakes. I hope this helps!
Leslie Shawmeker says
How would you convert this into just a small 6inch cheesecake?
Miranda C. says
Cut the recipe in half (half the crust and half the cheesecake filling). This will work in a 6" pan. Remember to also reduce the baking time by about 15-20 minutes. Hope this helps!