Hardware
9″ Spring form pan.
Roasting or baking pan that is larger than the spring form.
Heavy duty aluminum foil.
- Time 6 hours, day 1… 30 minutes, day 2.

These directions are written for use with a food processor. Mixing times will vary for stand or hand mixers.

Oreo Crust
25 Oreo cookies (I scrape the filling out of them)
3 tablespoons of melted butter

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Put cookie pieces into food processor. During processing, add melted butter. Process until you have finely chopped pieces. Put chopped Oreo pieces into 9″ spring form pan and use a flat bottomed, drinking glass to press and pack into pan until bottom is evenly covered. Put pan into pre-heated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Store in freezer while prepping first batch of cheese cake batter.

Chocolate Layer
24 ounces of cream cheese
3/4 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract
3 eggs
6 ounces of semi-sweet or dark chocolate morsels (60-80% Cocoa)

NOTE: My food processor has a dough setting and blade which is used for this step. For my double boiler, I use a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water. All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Place cream cheese into processor and process for 1 minute or until smooth. Scrape work bowl. Add sugar and vanilla, process until sugar is incorporated, approximately 1 more minute. Add eggs one at a time allowing 15 seconds in between to be fully incorporated. You will probably want to scrape the work bowl after the first egg. Melt chocolate pieces using a double boiler. Add melted chocolate to batter and process for another minute to incorporate. Pour batter into spring form pan and return to freezer for 2 hours to set up.

Caramel Sauce (prepare while chocolate layer is freezing)
1 cup of sugar
6 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup of roasted, salted, chopped peanuts

WARNING: Melted sugar is very hot and any splatter will burn you. Also, this is not something to walk away from. The sugar burns very quickly once it gets to a boiling state.

Place sugar into a heavy pan over medium heat. Stir sugar as it is melting to keep from burning. Once sugar is completely melted stop stirring and let it come to a gentle boil (this is where it can go bad quickly). Once it begins to boil, add in butter and whisk to combine. The sauce will foam up when the butter is added, this is normal. Remove from heat once butter is melted and combined. Slowly whisk in cream, the sauce will again foam up. Allow sauce to cool to room temperature. Transfer to a glass bowl and refrigerate until chocolate layer is ready. Pour caramel sauce over chocolate layer starting in the center and working your way out. Leave about 1/2 inch on the edge. Add peanuts and return to freezer.

Peanut Butter Layer
24 ounces of cream cheese
3/4 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract
3 eggs
4 ounces of creamy peanut butter

NOTE: My food processor has a dough setting and blade which is used for this step. All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Boil water (enough is needed to fill the roasting pan 3/4 the way up the spring form pan).

Place cream cheese into processor and process for 1 minute or until smooth. Scrape work bowl. Add sugar and vanilla, process until sugar is incorporated, approximately 1 more minute. Add eggs one at a time allowing 15 seconds in between to be fully incorporated. You will probably want to scrape the work bowl after the first egg. Add peanut butter and process for another minute to incorporate. Pour batter into spring form pan.

Wrap the spring form pan using the aluminum foil. We are baking this like a custard, using a water bath. Make sure there are no seems or holes in the foil. Place wrapped spring form in roasting pan. Set the roasting pan on the center oven rack. Add boiling water to roasting pan until the water level is 3/4 up the side of the spring form pan. Close oven and bake for 90 minutes.

Remove from oven and place on cooling rack for an hour to an hour and a half. Cover and put in refrigerator over night.

Chocolate Ganache (day 2)
6 ounces of semi-sweet or dark chocolate morsels (60-80% Cocoa)
2/3 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup of roasted, salted, chopped peanuts

Put chocolate pieces in glass bowl. Put cream into a small sauce pan over medium heat. Heat cream until it comes to a slight boil. You need to stir the cream as it heats to keep a skin from forming. Pour the cream over the chocolate pieces and stir until chocolate is completely melted. Let cool for a couple of minutes. Pour ganache over cheese cake starting from center and working out. Spread to about 1/2 inch of edge. Add peanuts, cover and return to refrigerator to cool for at least one hour before serving.