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This easy Skinny Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake brings all the satisfying richness of regular cheesecake with fewer calories. Peanut butter cups are added to the batter just before baking for an extra layer of decadence.
The name for this cheesecake might sound like a bit of an oxymoron, but hear me out! Traditional cheesecake is normally rich, heavy, and loaded with fat and calories. This Skinny Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake, on the other hand, is still creamy, rich, and generally divine– but with far less fat and calories.
Best of all, since we saved some calories, we can afford to add in some peanut butter cups. The texture of this cheesecake is lighter than a New York-style cheesecake, but it’s still as creamy and delicious as you’d expect. If you’re looking for a no-bake cheesecake recipe, try my No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake to keep your kitchen cool.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love This Skinny Cheesecake
- What You’ll Need
- How To Make Skinny Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake
- Recipe Tips & Variations
- How To I Remove Cheesecake From The Pan
- How Do You Know When Cheesecake Is Done
- What The Best Way To Slice Cheesecake
- Serving Suggestions
- How To Store Leftover Skinny Cheesecake
- More Must Try Dessert Recipes
- Skinny Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake Recipe
Why You’ll Love This Skinny Cheesecake
- By using low-fat dairy products and less butter in the crust, the calories and fat are cut drastically in this recipe.
- It’s easy to make since the cheesecake batter is mixed with a food processor.
- Generous chunks of peanut butter cups add flavor, texture, and a bit of nostalgia.
- While it’s lower in calories, this “skinny” cheesecake doesn’t skimp on flavor.
- It lasts a long time in the refrigerator and can be made ahead and frozen.
What You’ll Need
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card.
- Graham Cracker Crumbs – Makes a crisp and delicious crust.
- Fat-Free Cottage Cheese – Replaces some of the cream cheese to lighten up the cheesecake filling.
- Light Cream Cheese – Keeps the filling rich and creamy with fewer calories.
- Fat-Free Sour Cream – Adds tangy flavor to the cheesecake. You could also use plain, fat-free Greek yogurt instead.
- Peanut Butter Cups – Adds texture, flavor, and visual interest to this recipe.
- Vanilla – Fragrant vanilla adds a perfect touch of sweet flavor to the filling.
- Eggs – Eggs add volume and richness while helping to bind the ingredients.
- Egg Whites – Using egg whites for part of the eggs cuts down calories and makes this cheesecake fluffier.
- Brown Sugar
- Sugar
- Flour
- Chocolate Sauce – An optional topping that looks and tastes great.
How To Make Skinny Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake
- Make the crust. Press the graham cracker crumbs into a greased 9-inch baking pan.
- Mix the filling. In a food processor, blend the cottage cheese and cream cheese until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the sugars, sour cream, flour, vanilla, egg, and egg whites and pulse just until blended.
- Add the mix-ins. Fold in ¾ cup of chopped peanut butter cups.
- Bake. Bake for 1 hour, until almost set on top. Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake set inside for 1 hour with the door closed.
- Cool and chill. Remove from the oven and cool, then cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
- Serve. To serve, garnish with the remaining peanut butter cups and chocolate sauce.
Recipe Tips & Variations
- Use a springform pan if possible. A springform pan makes it easier to remove the cooled cheesecake from the pan.
- Swap out the candies. Fold in your favorite candies instead of peanut butter cups if you wish. Some great options are Rolos, chopped Snickers bars, and chopped Butterfingers.
How To I Remove Cheesecake From The Pan
Once the chilled cheesecake is firm, remove the springform mold. Run a small offset spatula or paring knife around the sides before removing it. Then use a knife or thin spatula to gently loosen the crust from the bottom. Use a couple of wide, sturdy spatulas and help from a friend to transfer it carefully to a platter.
How Do You Know When Cheesecake Is Done
Before you pull the cheesecake out of the oven, give it a little shake. It should not look liquidy at all, but will still have a little jiggle to it when it’s done. Remember that it will continue to set in the oven and later as it cools.
What The Best Way To Slice Cheesecake
To slice the cheesecake, dip a knife in warm water and wipe it off with a clean towel before making the first cut. Clean the knife off between each cut, dipping it in the water as needed to keep the knife warm.
Serving Suggestions
Here are a few options for sauces and drinks that pair well with this cheesecake:
- Easy Hot Fudge Sauce – Need I say more? A drizzle of hot fudge sauce will take this cheesecake from awesome to extraordinary.
- Raspberry Sauce – If you love PB&J flavors or want to add fruity flavor to this cheesecake, serve it with raspberry sauce.
- Peanut Butter Magic Shell – Serve this cheesecake with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream covered in this magic shell for a seriously tasty treat.
- Strawberry Hot Chocolate – White chocolate and strawberries come together to make a creamy, pink drink to complement this skinny cheesecake.
- Kahlua Hot Chocolate – A grown-up take on hot chocolate that’s excellent after a day out in the snow!
How To Store Leftover Skinny Cheesecake
- Refrigerate – Store the cooled cheesecake in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will last up to 7 days. For the best taste, wrap it in plastic wrap.
- Freeze – Wrap the whole cheesecake in plastic wrap and store it in a shallow, airtight freezer container for up to 3 months.
More Must Try Dessert Recipes
- Special K Bars
- Cherry Cobbler
- Brownie Batter Dip
- Chocolate Chip Blondies
- Cosmic Brownies
- Healthy Peanut Butter Cups
- Homemade Milky Way
Skinny Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 2 cups fat free cottage cheese
- 1 8oz package light cream cheese
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup fat free sour cream
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 whole large eggs
- 2 large egg whites
- 1 cup peanut butter cups, chopped
- Chocolate sauce, , optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300º F. Line a 9 inch baking pan with foil, and spray with nonstick spray. Or use a spring form pan
- Press the graham cracker crumbs into the pan.
- Add cottage cheese and cream cheese to a food processor. Process until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Add brown sugar, sugar, sour cream, flour, vanilla, egg, and egg whites. Pulse until just blended.
- Fold in 3/4 cup of chopped peanut butter cups.
- Pour over graham cracker crumbs.
- Bake for 1 hour or until almost set on top. Turn off the oven, and let cheesecake set in there for 1 hour with the door closed. Remove from the oven and cool.
- Cover and chill for about 8 hours in the fridge.
- To serve garnish with the remaining peanut butter cups, and chocolate sauce if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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what a DELICIOUS combination!
What a tasty treat! Love that there is a skinny component in it – that makes that extra bite even that much better!
This looks so decadent and creamy! I love that it’s lightened up too!
Sounds good and you would never know by looking at this beauty that it’s on the skinny side at all. I can’t wait to be invited to your house because I would not hesitate to ask for this!
I’m usually pretty skeptical of “skinny” desserts because so often they use really processed ingredients to keep the calories down…but I’m really loving this recipe! I actually featured it on my blog’s Weekend Wrap-Up today, and hope you’ll stop by to check it out. Thanks for a fantastic post, and enjoy your weekend!
http://www.floptimism.com/2013/10/weekend-wrap-up-self-love.html
Oh man! Once this little lady is evicted, I HAVE to try this!!
Do you have the nutritional stats that go with this? Calories? Fat? Carbs?? Much appreciated!!
Here is the original recipe – I only changed out the candy, so it should be close to accurate
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/snickers-cheesecake-10000000223607/