Mini But Mighty!

...this is also one of the fifty-seven potential names I have for my autobiography. It's a pretty boring book altogether considering my full name should be Kate "Rules Are Made to Be Followed" Fox, but damned if I don't throw caution to the wind when it comes to crazy dessert concoctions. I mean, I have been an insane cheesecake making machine these past two weeks...I'm turning into Kate Bakes Cheesecakes almost exclusively. I feel like I have to admit now that I believe cheesecakes are far superior to cakes. The irony is not lost on me, the Kate who Bakes Cakes, but as I age (shudder), they just seem to be a more delectable dessert than an overly-frosted, super sweet cake. Between last week's dulce de leche swirl cheesecake with fudge brownie bottom, and this week's ultimate PB & C mashup (that C stand for 'chocolate' for you normies that aren't obsessed with dessert), I'm gonna convince you to come to the dark side. I promise there's no PowerPoint presentation involved with this argument. Just really terrible, potato-quality cell phone photos:

It's pretty much the best thing to happen to peanut butter since sliced bread, really.

Handheld, portable, crowd-pleasing, oh, and absolutely delicious, these small but mighty peanut butter cheesecakes are stuffed with a tiny Reese's and held together by a single peanut butter Oreo crust. I brought these to work for my boss's birthday, an avid PB&C lover, and took them to *another* birthday party for a friend who also happens to love the PB&C flavor combo. Surround yourself with friends like this; they're good people, PB&C lovers...they almost always share dessert, unlike those snobby Crème Brûlée folk (all those accent marks, and they still won't share). I have to admit, these little cheesecakes aren't terrible for you! With a few small adjustments, these are only 204 calories per cup. And while you might think, "But they're small. I wanna eat like 10 at a time," (I won't stop you), the richness of the cheesecake, peanut butter, and chocolate all coming together makes one serving absolutely satisfying to the ole' sweet tooth; but don't let that stop you from getting seconds (it didn't stop anyone else).

There's a whole lotta Reese's action here.

These are EVEN EASIER to make than last week's cheesecake; no water baths, no baking things one at a time, sorry, I sorta lied last week...for a full-fledged cheesecake, that really is a pretty simple recipe, but for mini cheesecakes, this is easy as pie...which is appropriate since pies are cheesecake-adjacent. This recipe makes 40 mini cheesecakes, so by all means, cut it in half for a more reasonable amount. I was feeding the masses and wanted a couple leftover to freeze for us. You'll need:

• A whole carton of Peanut butter Oreos (I also used Glutino's gluten-free sandwich cookies to make 10 safe for me to eat)
• 40 Reese's Minis (get the kind that are already unwrapped; save a TON of time and annoyance)
• 20 ounces of cream cheese at room temp (I was still stuck with the awful full-fat kind for this; use the 1/3 fat kind to reduce calories even more)
• 2/3 C creamy peanut butter (I use JIF Natural PB)
• 1 C Swerve granular
• 1/2 C low fat sour cream (not pictured, sorry!) at room temp
  
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 eggs at room temp
• 2/3 C sugar free chocolate chips, like Lily's brand
• 1/3 C Reese's peanut butter chips

It's a good thing there's extra Reese's Minis leftover with this recipe. They're as addictive as they are adorable.

Start by preheating your oven to 350 and grabbing two muffin tins. Line each with cupcake papers, plop one Oreo into the bottom, and place a Reese's Mini in the middle. Then beat your cream cheese for 3 minutes on medium-high (using a paddle, not a whisk) in a stand mixer until it's nice and fluffy. Add in the peanut butter, mixing for another 2-3 minutes until things are fluffy again. Then add the sugar, blending well so the batter isn't gritty (2-3 more minutes). Mix in the sour cream and vanilla until incorporated. Now, turn the mixer to low and add each egg, one a time, making sure the egg has completely mixed in before you add another.

I have never been able to fill a muffin tin without it turning into a small overflow disaster.

Using a large spoon or a 1/4 measuring cup, carefully drop batter on top of each Mini Reese's. You want the cupcake liners pretty much all the way full. Things will expand a bit in the oven, but they will cool back down to normal size. Smooth out the batter with the back of a spoon. Bake for 17-18 minutes at 350 degrees; a toothpick should come out mostly clean when these are finished. Edges will be golden but not browned, and everything will be firm.

It will also look like each cheesecake has an outie belly button thanks to the Reese's in them.

Let the cheesecakes cool in the muffin tin on top of cooling rack for at least 15 minutes. These are soft and hard to handle without crushing, so I recommend putting them, still in the tin, in the freezer for 15-20 minutes before removing from the pan to finish cooling completely on a cooling rack. You can also speed this part of the process up by putting them back in the freezer for 30 more minutes. You could call it a day here and eat up, but I require MORE PB & C. Gather up those chocolate and peanut butter chips!

Things are about to get messy. In the best way, though.

I poured my 2/3 cup of chocolate chips in a bowl and heated for 1 minute on 70% power in my microwave. I gave them a stir and added another 30 seconds on 70% power before they were nice and melty without getting scorched. I poured this into a piping bag (a large plastic baggy works, too). I put down Parchment paper, grabbed my cheesecakes from the freezer, and then snipped the tip of the piping bag off. I literally just drizzled back and forth several times across ALL cheesecakes (quick, extremely messy, but you get to eat dried chocolate when you're cleaning up later).

*Mmm, chocolaty drizzle.*

Now, take the 1/3 cup of peanut butter chips, dump into a clean bowl, and heat for 1 minute at 70% power in the microwave. Since this is a smaller volume, 1 minute should be plenty to melt everything down. Put into a clean piping bag or baggy, snip the tip, and drizzle, drizzle like your life depends on it (your taste buds' lives do, really).

I mean...putting the yum in da-yum.

Let these set for about 30 minutes until the chips all harden back up. I put my cheesecakes into a few 9x13 trays, all covered with lids, and kept in the fridge until ready to roll out and deliver unsuspecting birthday gals and guys with tiny little disks of PB&C happiness. I defy you to have a bad birthday when you can double fist handheld cheesecakes into your mouth with reckless abandon.

It simply isn't possible.

Especially when the cheesecakes are this adorable.

And truly filled with joy...aka, serotonin-releasing chocolate.

These are quick and a total sinch to make, but they taste like something that takes ages to put together. However, unlike any other cheesecake in existence, these go from oven to eating in under 3 hours. And they will go quick. The peanut butter cheesecake itself is nice and airy but still full of flavor. It's light enough that even by adding in a whole peanut butter Oreo AND a Reese's Mini, it somehow still manages to be perfectly balanced and doesn't come across as way too rich or overindulgent. I'm trying to ration my leftovers by keeping them in the freezer until I need to pop one in my mouth, but I'm failing miserably because they're just too yummy. At this point, I realize it's for the best that 30 of these went to live in other homes and bellies. 'Til next time, my fellow eaters!

I may never bake a regular cake again...
Okay, that's a total lie. Next blog is gonna be suuuuuper cakey.