Wow, already Thursday night.What a crazy last couple days I’ve had.First off, my son’s buddy party was a success.9 little boys running all over the place for over and hour is always exciting.It’s amazing how fast the presents get ransacked.
Earlier that morning, while doing some last minute party favor shopping with my mom, I noticed a dog in a parked vehicle. Now mind you it is around 107 degrees in AZ right now. I was fuming. This poor pup was panting looking out a barely cracked front door window. We waited 20 plus minutes to see if someone was coming back to this vehicle and nothing! So, I called 911 and a policeman came within 3 minutes. He took down all of my information and told me I might have to go to court if this person gets sited. Fine by me, I’d like to see the creep who thinks it’s ok to leave an animal in a blazing hot vehicle. We’ll see what happens, if I get a call back. Can some people seriously get a life!
Alright, time to calm myself down with some cheesecake heaven! These little cheesecakes are such a treat. My favorite combination of chocolate and peanut butter are at it again. Bite size, creamy and peanut buttery fabulous! I used that fun mini cheesecake pan I got the other day and highly recommend it, go treat yourself to one. I love the buttery flavor the shortbread cookies give the crust, these are a must try! Enjoy!
Shortbread Cookie Crusted Peanut Butter Mini Cheesecakes with Chocolate Ganache
1 Cup ground up Pepperidge Farm Shortbread Cookies (I did this in a food processor)
2 Tablespoons melted butter
2 8oz packages reduced fat softened cream cheese
½ Cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ Cup light sour cream
Pinch of salt
3 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter that has been softened in microwave for about 15 seconds
½ Cup semi sweet chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons heavy cream, or a touch more until you get a shiny, smooth consistency with your chocolate
1.Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.Place ground cookies and melted butter into a medium bowl and stir until well combined.Spoon a heaping Tablespoon of crust into each mini cheesecake pan or mini muffin tin.With fingers, press crust down until even.
2.In a stand or electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until well combined.Add in eggs one at a time following with the vanilla, sour cream, pinch of salt and softened peanut butter.Mix until just combined.
3.Fill each crust filled cup ¾ way full of cheesecake batter.Bake for 18-20 minutes or until cheesecake is set.Remove from oven and let sit in pan at room temperature for 30 minutes before removing.Transfer to mini cheesecakes to a cooling rack to cool completely, another 30 minutes or so.
4.Place chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second intervals until melted and smooth.Stir in heavy cream until shiny and smooth.Spoon ganache over each cheesecake.Refrigerate until serving.
12 mini cheesecakes
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Huge thanks to Lisa from Living Easy for the “I Love Your Blog” Award. Cute and colorful. I always love checking in at Lisa’s great blog. Thanks also to Kitchen Flavours from Yummy Food for the Wilde Woman Award, so artsy! I look forward to checking out all of her tasty recipes. I’ll be passing on these awards shortly!
Still to come are those chilly treats and that great side dish. Have a great rest of the Week!
Shortbread Cookie Crusted Peanut Butter Mini Cheesecakes with Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
For the Cheesecake and Crust
- 1 cup Pepperidge Farm Shortbread Cookies ground up (I did this in a food processor)
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 16 ounces reduced fat cream cheese softened (I used 2 8-ounce packages)
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup light sour cream
- pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter softened in the microwave for about 15 seconds
For the Ganache
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream or a touch more until you get a shiny, smooth consistency with your chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Place ground cookies and melted butter into a medium bowl and stir until well combined. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of crust into each mini cheesecake pan or mini muffin tin. With fingers, press crust down until even.
- In a stand or electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until well combined. Add in eggs one at a time following with the vanilla, sour cream, pinch of salt and softened peanut butter. Mix until just combined.
- Fill each crust filled cup ¾ way full of cheesecake batter. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until cheesecake is set. Remove from oven and let sit in pan at room temperature for 30 minutes before removing. Transfer to mini cheesecakes to a cooling rack to cool completely, another 30 minutes or so.
- Place chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second intervals until melted and smooth. Stir in heavy cream until shiny and smooth. Spoon ganache over each cheesecake. Refrigerate until serving.
Welcome to my online kitchen! Picky Palate is where you’ll find family friendly recipes along with the best Disney eats, tips and copycat recipes! 
I have to tell you…at this time I am TRYING to do MY version of the South Beach Diet (which I believe is healthier anyway :o) and I KNOW that I should NOT be checking up on your blog…but I just can’t help it! Everything always looks so delicious and today is no different. Maybe after our “40 Days of Health” I’ll treat the family to these – but I’ll make sure to send the rest out of the house! :o)
mmm….I want some of those!! You are amazing in the kitchen!!
You are killing me. These look fantastic! Peanut butter and cheesecake – you can’t get much better. That poor dog – great job for reporting it.
Way to go, Jenny! I feel the same way about those morons that leave their pets in the car in AZ! How would the people like to be locked in the hot car like that?!
Anyways…your mini cheesecakes look wonderful! PB, cookie and cheesecake? Yum!
Your such a sweetie to stick around for that poor dog. Some people are so clueless that its sad.
I love these mini guys though it’d probably mean that I’d end up eating about 5 of them because they’re little, right? 🙂
These cheesecakes are beautiful morsels Jenny……you’ve gone and done it again!
GOOD FOR YOU calling 911 and having the police come-that poor puppy….what the heck are people thinking leaving a dog in a car in the summer? It’s not like they don’t know better!
We’re BIG dog lovers and would have done the exact same thing…
Carol
Those look so cute and so delicious!
That’s awful! Pets aren’t possesions – they’re living things! You can’t treat them like that. I’m angry myself, and I wasn’t even there. Good for you, for turning that person in!
However, these mini cheesecakes look delicious. I’ve been on a peanut butter kick lately.
Ohhh..these are fabulous!!!!And good for you calling 911 on that A-hole! I would have dont the same thing!
Hi Deborah,
You won’t be sorry investing in some of these fun pans!
Hi Aggie,
I felt good about calling the police, I couldn’t have just left the puppy!
Thanks Heather!
Hi Bridgett,
Yes, since they are small, somehow it seems less bad for you!
I love those little individual cheesecakes. It makes you feel less guilty than taking a big slice from the whole cake! I sure hope that poor pup was ok. Have a good weekend!
Oh wow! Love this and will have to try soon, among your many others.
I am fired up about that puppy! That is terrible, you did a good thing by calling the police.
Those cheesecakes look soooo good! I love cheesecake and love all the ingredients in these!!
I am SO glad you called the cops. People like that make me so mad – there are no words!!
I wanted to do the chocolate/pb combo for the last work birthday, so I made a cake. I’m sure it wasn’t as good as these little babies, though! You are really making me want to get some mini cheesecake pans.
Thanks Barbara!
Hi Emily,
Come on down to AZ, the weather is great….not!
Hi Shelby,
Yah, wish we all lived on the same street, how much fun would that be!
Hi Grace,
Yes, it is disappointing to know people like that own animals!
I agree Beth,
I love cheesecake!
Thanks Lucy,
Hope to see you here again!
Hi MaryAnn,
I didn’t love spending $32 bucks on the pan, but I must say I’m glad I have it now!
Thanks Kimmy, Patsy and Prudy!
Hi Rita,
I was nervous calling 911, but I couldn’t have just left the little guy out there.
Hi Maureen,
Thanks so much for your comment. I know how busy summer gets. Hope you get some time to get cooking!
Hi Katherine,
The reduced fat products worked surprisingly well in these.
Hi Natalie,
You’ve got everything you need! Great!
Thanks Allie!
Thanks Leah!
Hi Megan,
I know, something about the small bite size cakes are almost more deadly. You can’t stop eating them!
Me too Amber, bring on the cheesecake!
Hi Stephanie,
Yes, the pan holds 12. I am tempted to go get one more. 12 just doesn’t seem to last long enough!
Good for you calling 911. That would infuriate me as well!!!! And these look amazing. Is it a 12 mini pan? These go on the list!!!!
Wonderful recipe, I love a good cheesecake! And I want to hurt people that leave their pets in their cars, especially when it’s that hot!
these look absolutely delicious! maybe the size and ingredients would keep me from feeling guilty about eating cheesecake..thanks for sharing 🙂
I would have done the exact same thing with regard to the dog…that anyone would think it was okay to leave their dog in a car on a 107 degree day is just beyond me. I hope you get a phone call so you can tell it to a judge!
Anyway, I’m totally bookmarking these pb cheesecakes, they look amazing!! Nicely done, as usual Miss Jenny!!
If only more people were as brave as you to call the cops instead of just letting things just happen the world would be a better place. Your cheesecakes are the cutest; they look so fancy like something you would get in a restaurant.
Oh yes, and the dog! I’m so glad you were there looking out for it. I would have loved to have heard about your Citizen’s Arrest had the owner shown their face. That is so sad, poor little dog!
Check! I have mini-spring-form pans so I am covered! I love shortbread, I am all about it being the crust of this creation!
You deserve an award for reporting the negligent dog owner to the police. Your mini cheesecakes look so awesome and the reduced fat makes them a real winner. I would love to try these.
I’ve been silent on the airwaves for a good little while – end of summer outings, lots of sick kids, and a landscaping project from you know where have me itching to get into a routine and cooking again!
I just totally over committed myself with school carnivals, sports with kids, piano, church, and regular life. On the flip side, it forces me to be organized – which brings me to the comment on your YUMMY cheesecakes! We’re trying a new thing this year – eating dinner when everyone gets home from school – around 4pm (when they are the most hungry) and then eating snacks, etc. later. Your recipes are always yummy and help me plan my week.
Good for you on the call to 911 for the dog. That happened to me in New Jersey at the mall with a little boy – in his car seat screaming and scared and the parents not coming out for 15 minutes (well, we didn’t see them come out at all – the police came and broke the window of the car, etc). Good for you – poor dog!
Have a great week – happy birthday to your son!
Maureen
Good thing you did calling 911! I get so annoyed with those kind of things! As usual you did wonders with pb and chocolate! They look so delicious!
Those are so pretty and they sound delicious. Kudos to for you for being a good citizen. Poor little pooch!
It’s still before 10 a.m. here, but boy those look good! You make some of the yummiest looking treats I have ever seen!
Poor doggy! I can never understand why people do things like that.
You’ve done well Jenny, these look mighty good and you are a good samaritan looking out for that poor pup.
Those seriously look amazing! And they are so cute. I am going to have to get me one of those pans for sure, I have been wanting one for awhile now. Can I have one for breakfast please?
oops, forgot! So glad you noticed the dog in the car & reported it and do hope the owners gets the book thrown at them!! Never ceases to amaze me how & why people do that w/pets & children… What in the world are they thinking!!
Jenny, what a great site you have, I'm just loving it; and your little guy's are just too cute!!
Thank you for stopping by, and I'll be back often. Your mini cheesecakes look so perfect & awesome!!
Some people just shouldn’t be allowed to keep animals!!
The cheesecakes look great. I want the mini cheesecake tin!!
poor puppy! i hate seeing and hearing about things like that. some people need a good kick in the pants.
meanwhile, these are quite possibly the most perfect mini cheesecakes i’ve seen. the fact that both chocolate and peanut butter are involved certainly doesn’t hurt… 🙂
Oh Jenny these look divine! Right about now I’m wishing you were on my side of the country! I’m getting ready for my last EFY weekend and have been a baking fool the last 2 night – and could use some help with all these awesome ideas you have! Have a great weekend!
That;s it! I am moving to AZ! I can stand the heat if that is what they serve down south!
Looks D-lish Jenny!
These look tasty – I love that it uses reduced fat products.