Peanut Butter Mini Cheesecakes

I apologize for the long period of time between this post and my last one.

Unfortunately, late last month I lost my Father.

This has been the hardest period in my life... It has felt as though my passion for doing the things I love disappeared.

My dad was amazing, smart, strong and so, so funny.

But the one thing I know, is that he would want me to carry on. He would push me to do the things I loved because "life is too short".

He fought his way into the world, fought through it, and fought going out.

So I will continue to blog and remember the wonderful things he has taught me.

What I will miss most about him:

1. His laugh
2. His beard
3. The way he would describe every book he read to me in full detail.
and most importantly...
4. The amazing G-Pa he was to his grandchildren. He would change diapers, run with them, and play in the sandbox. Carry them on his shoulders and draw with them. Kiss them on their forehead and sing them to sleep.

He will be greatly missed.

But I know he would have loved these cheesecakes. He would say "you know, I don't really like chocolate..."
and sneak and eat 2 before he went to bed at night.

This post is for you dad. And everything I do every day to better myself, my family, and my children, I dedicate this to you.

For the Crust:
2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
3 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Peanut Butter Cheesecake:
2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
3 large eggs, room temp
20 mini Reese's peanut butter cups, chopped

Ganache:
3/4 cup semi-sweet mini chips
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 Tablespoon butter

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a regular sized muffin  tin with cupcake liners. This recipe will make 24 mini cheesecakes.

For the crust, mix together the crumbs, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Switch to a spoon, pour in the melted butter, and stir until the mixture is completely moist.

Place 1-2 Tablespoon sized scoops of the crumbs into the bottom of each prepared muffin tin, and press down until compact.

Bake the crusts for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Set aside to cool while you make the filling.

In a large bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients of the cheesecake filling. With an electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attached, beat until combined and smooth.  On low speed, beat in the eggs 1 at a time, just until blended.

Fold in the chopped Reese's cups. Fill each muffin tin about 3/4 of the way full with the cheesecake mixture (this is typically a 1/4 cup for regular sized muffins).

Bake for 20 minutes until the cheesecakes are puffed. Cool completely on a wire rack.

For the Ganache, in bowl, mix the chocolate chips and the heavy cream.

Place in your microwave and heat on high for 1 minute. Stir. If not completely melted, heat in 30 second increments until smooth.

Stir in the 1 Tablespoon of butter, and stir until melted and incorporated.

Place the ganache in your fridge, or freezer to speed up the process, until thickened.

Spoon the ganache over the cooled cheesecakes, sprinkle with peanuts, and place in the fridge to set. Anywhere from a couple of hours to overnight.

I absolutely love the flavor of peanut butter cheesecake. Pair that with chocolate ganache and its a creamy paradise.

Enjoy!

And thank you everyone for visiting my blog!