Nothing goes together better than peanut butter and chocolate. It’s just one of those combinations that is irresistible. I had some cream cheese that I wanted to use up in my frig and a box of do-si-dos Girl Scout cookies that I thought would make the perfect peanut buttery crust.  You see, my husband LOVES do-si-dos, so I was going to sneak a box from his stash of a dozen or so boxes that he had in his office (he thinks he’s being sly by keeping them in there but the entire family knows!).

Well, when I went in to “borrow” a box, there was only one left.  How could I take his last box? Think, Nancy, think…..wait, I had my own box of trefoils Girl Scout cookies (my favorite) that I could crush and add some peanut butter to that would make a wonderful crust for my cheesecake. Ingenious! I used approximately one sleeve of cookies (give or take since I ate a couple in the process) and it made the perfect amount of crumbs.

I used a springform pan but you could use any 9-inch baking dish too. Make sure to grease the pan well.  I found out the hard way that although the cheesecake tasted good, it looked a mess coming out of a pan that had not been sufficiently lubricated!

You can decorate your cheesecake any way you want, using whatever you have or your family likes. Chopped peanuts, cookies and whipped cream are just a few of the toppings that can be added to customize your creation. Have fun making it your own!

 

Crust:

1  cup crushed cookies crumbs, your flavor choice

4 T. sugar

4 T. butter, melted

Cheesecake Filling:

2 8oz. packages cream cheese, softened

1 12oz. package chocolate chips

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 T. flour

2 t. vanilla

Peanut Butter Topping:

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2-3 T. milk

 

Preheat oven to 350. In the microwave, melt the chocolate chips in a small bowl and stir occasionally until smooth with no lumps. Allow to cool slightly (you don’t want to add steamy hot chocolate to the egg mixture). In a medium bowl mix cookie crumbs and sugar. Stir in melted butter until all crumbs are coated. Press onto the bottom of a well greased 9-in pan;set aside.

In a large mixing bowl beat the cream cheese, sugar and flour until smooth; add eggs one at a time and vanilla until just combined. Add melted chocolate and blend until smooth and creamy. The filling will be fairly thick at this point. Spread filling over crust.

Bake for 40 minutes or until the center looks almost set and not jiggly. Add an additional 5 minutes if necessary but be careful not to overbake. Once out of the oven, run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen cheesecake.  Allow to cool 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

While cheesecake is cooling, mix all topping ingredients until thick and creamy.  Place topping in a small plastic sandwich bag, seal and clip corner to decorate cooled cake. Make design of your choice on top and sides as desired. I also added small peanut butter cookies and whipped cream. Enjoy!