Deep Dish Peanut Butter Pie is a family tradition – birthdays, holidays, any day… you name it, this is the dessert of choice! Instead of the traditional oreo crust, I’ve changed it to a decadent fudge like brownie, filled to the brim with a peanut butter cream cheese filling, topped with peanut butter cups, and a fudgy drizzle! I love it’s stunning looks, and that it can be made ahead. It’s a real crowd pleaser, and you’ll probably want help eating it – seriously, one should not be left alone with this in the house! And… if there’s peanut allergies, you can substitute almond butter and almond cups for a choco/almond amazingness!
To make a parchment circle for your springform pan, start by cutting a square piece as wide as the pan (top left picture). Then, fold it into quarters and keep folding it until it won’t fold again (top right photo). Using your scissors, cut off the excess ends so that the parchment is half the diameter of the pan (bottom left photo). Finally open the circle and press it flat to the bottom of the pan to straighten it out a bit (bottom right photo).
You don’t have to use a springform pan for this dessert, but it’s optimal for presentation because you can take your cheesecake brownies out and place them on a cake stand which adds a dramatic touch!
Spread the brownie batter as smoothly as possible over the base of the pan and bake until just done with a fair bit of fudgyness in the middle. While the brownies are baking make the peanut butter filling. You can use either a stand mixer or a food processor – I prefer the food processor because I didn’t have to scrape down the sides as much as when I used a mixer. You can also mix it by hand, but it’s going to take some muscles!
Once the brownies have cooled, spread the peanut butter filling smoothly over the top. Stretch a piece of plastic wrap tightly across the top and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. This step is really important, you can eat it right away but the flavor improves the next day, (I know this for a fact because I dove right in and it wasn’t as good as after it had been chilled). It also won’t hold shape until after it’s been refrigerated because the filling is too soft at room temperature.
When you’re ready to serve it, you can sprinkle the top with chopped peanut butter cups and drizzle with some fudge sauce. Now I’m all for piling on and gilding the lily, but I actually prefer this dessert without the peanut butter cups (it’s a texture thing, I prefer it all soft). However, I’m totally alone on this one because everyone else unanimously agrees they like the peanut butter cups. So it’s your call, they certainly add to the presentation!
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Deep Dish Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 12 1x
Ingredients
Brownie Base:
- 1 cup natural peanut butter, smooth
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 egg
- 2 Tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 Teaspoon baking soda
- 6 Tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
Peanut Butter Cheesecake Filling:
- 2 – 8 ounce pkgs cream cheese, softened
- 2/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup natural peanut butter, smooth
- 2 Teaspoons vanilla
Optional Toppings:
- chopped peanut butter cups (I used 7 ounces of peanut butter cups to top my brownies)
Fudge Sauce:
- 3 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and cut a circle of parchment to fit a 9″ springform pan.
- Mix together all the ingredients for the brownie base until thoroughly mixed. Spread the batter evenly over the parchment lined pan and bake 15-20 minutes or until the brownies start to puff but are still fudgy in the center.
- Set the brownie base aside to cool completely.
- To make the peanut butter cheesecake filling, combine all the ingredients in a food processor or stand mixer and mix to combine, stopping to scrape down the sides so there’s no lumps. Refrigerate the filling until the brownie base is cooled.
- Spread the cheesecake filling evenly over the top of the brownie base and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight, (the flavors really improve after a lengthy refrigeration).
- When you’re ready to serve, top your dessert with any of the extra toppings. I made this plain without toppings and another time with the chopped peanut butter cups on top, and the fudge sauce drizzle. Both ways are really good, but the extra toppings add a bit more punch to the presentation!
Notes
I used Grade A amber maple syrup.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
How do you think this would work with vegan cream cheese? I really want to make this as a dairy free version so the hubby can enjoy too!
I’ve never worked with vegan cream cheese, so I can’t be sure if it would work. Since the cream cheese part isn’t baked, my guess would be that it should work just fine. I’m sorry I’m not more help, but I hope you’ll let me know how it goes, or if you have anymore questions. 🙂
I made this yesterday during my lunch break! It works up quick and easy and then sat in the fridge until dessert time.
It was SOOOO GOOD!
I even made an extra to share at work 🙂 So, I actually made TWO during my 1 hour lunch break!
The only change I made was I left off the chocolate sauce, it was perfect without.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these brownies! I think I might be a bit of a chocoholic because I love drizzling chocolate fudge sauce on desserts, but I have made these without the sauce and I think the peanut butter cheesecake really shines that way!
I don’t eat PB – what other nut butter would sub here?
Almond butter works really well in this recipe, you won’t even miss the peanut butter! 🙂
I ended up using honey instead. It turned out wonderful. I had a little extra filing and added it to the fudge topping to add more peanut butter taste but still keeping it the drizzle consistency. Great recipe thanks for sharing
Honey is a great choice for a maple syrup substitute, it usually makes baked goods a little bit cakey, but in this case the brownies are so fudgy I don’t think it’ll matter! So glad it worked out for you! 🙂
Can u use regular syrup. I’m minus one ingredient and that’s the one MAPLE syrup but I have tons of other syrup. Think it would taste ALOT different?
Thanks
It depends on what kind of syrup you’re using whether or not it will taste much different, and I’m also not sure if it will affect the texture of the brownie layer – different ingredients react differently in baking. Let me know what syrup you plan on using and hopefully I’ll be able to give you some tips! 🙂
What can I substitute the maple syrup for? That’s way too much sugar ! I need a sugar substitute please.
I’m sorry but I don’t have any experience with xylitol or any of those kinds of sweeteners. 🙁 The good news is the amount of maple syrup in this recipe serves quite a few people – it’s a really rich dessert!
Try Stevia
I love this recipe – I featured it in a recent blog post of mine! 🙂
http://www.recipechatter.com/easy-cheesecake-recipes-2/
I’m so glad you liked it, and thanks for including my recipe in you National Cheesecake Day roundup!
Ummmmm………. Wow. I’d probably still use the Best Basic Brownie recipe, because butter, that’s why. Other than that…..yeah…..we’ll be trying this at some point.
You can use butter in this brownie recipe if you want, I’ve tried it both ways and weirdly enough I can’t tell the difference so I went with coconut oil! Since there’s a lot of peanut butter in the brownie base, I think it might be right up your alley – peanut/chocolate fudginess! 🙂
“One should not be left alone with this in the house” wise words my friend; because That cake looks as delicious as it is dangerous! 😉
It’s dangerous alright! To top it off, I had to make it several times because I kept forgetting to write down the measurements – I started giving it away to save me from myself! 🙂
Holy cow – this looks AMAZING! Total peanut butter goodness right here.
I would consider making this if I swapped out greek yogurt for the cream cheese! (I am not a fan) lol
I would try swapping drained greek yogurt for the cream cheese for the best (thick and creamy) results!