Mini Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecakes

Okay, so first off: Christmas was only like three weeks ago?! What the what? Does anybody else feel like it’s been forever already?

Secondly. Let’s talk cards. The Hallmark kind–the ones you get for any occasion from anniversaries to Secretaries’ Day. I’m usually very good with cards. I put thought into the selection, write a heartfelt message, maybe even have a holiday-appropriate sticker on hand to seal the envelope.

But this Christmas…yeah, I didn’t get Charlie a card. Christmas cards are totally optional, I told myself. It’s not like birthdays or even something like a graduation where the card is a vehicle for the message. Besides, boys don’t care about cards!

Oops.

I’m sure you guessed–Charlie did get me a Christmas card. It had a duck with a Santa hat on the front. And inside was his version of the Twelve Days of Christmas, all pertaining to our relationship.

Epic girlfriend fail.

So this weekend, when I went to visit him for his birthday, I was determined not to fail again! I went out during my lunch break, scoured the card selection at two different stores, and finally picked a quirky, kind of nonsensical card I knew he’d like (it had penguins on it, if you’re curious). I got on the train, relieved in my jubilation.

And then I didn’t have a pen in my purse.

Y’know what, I totally brought him a dozen of these mini peanut butter cup cheesecakes, so I think that’s better than a stupid card anyway.

Mini Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecakes

Adapted from Just Everyday Me

Ingredients:

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs, crushed (4-5 sheets)
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 2 8-oz packages 1/3-less fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 12-15 bite-sized peanut butter cups (not minis)
• 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a cupcake tin with paper liners.

2. If you have a food processor, crush up your graham crackers into fine crumbs. If you don’t, stick ‘em in a Ziploc bag and whack the bag against a table, creating crumbs and taking out your frustration from the work day at the same time. Efficiency.

3. Combine graham cracker crumbs, 1 tbsp granulated sugar, and melted butter in a small bowl. Mix with a fork to combine until crumb mixture is completely moistened.

4. Press a layer of crumbs into the bottom of each cupcake liner, about half an inch in each. Unwrap mini peanut butter cups and place one in each muffin tin, on top of the crust layer in the center of the well.

5. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese, peanut butter, the rest of the granulated sugar, flour, and vanilla on medium speed until fully incorporated. The mixture will be creamy but not overly thick.

6. Beat in one egg at a time and continue to mix, incorporating the eggs.

7. Use a large spoon to dollop the mixture into the liners on top of the crumb crusts and around the peanut butter cups. These cheesecakes will not rise that much, so fill the liners all the way to the top!

8. Bake for 18-20 minutes (mine took 18 exactly), until the cheesecakes are set (not jiggly) but the tops are still soft and slightly moist to the touch. Let cool in muffin tins for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

9. While cheesecakes are cooling, melt chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl on 50% power in 30-second intervals, stirring after each–don’t overheat, or you’ll burn the chocolate! (Clearly I know from experience.) Use a fork to drizzle the melted chocolate over the tops of the cooled cheesecakes.

10. Refrigerate cheesecakes for several hours, overnight if possible.

Makes 16 mini cheesecakes.

Tara: 1. Hallmark: 0.

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