Snickers & Reese's Cheesecake

I love sweets, dessert is definitely my favorite part of any meal.  Although it's a tough choice, cheesecake takes 1st Prize as my favorite dessert :)  When I saw this recipe on My Baking Addiction it was put on my must-make list and I have made it several times.  I had tried several different basic cheesecake recipes and although they were good, they were far more time-consuming and none turned out as good as this one.  This is my go-to recipe for any basic cheese and it can be jazzed up with candies or you can change up the basic trust with a chocolate crust too.

snickers cheesecake

The first time I made the snickers cheesecake (my favorite), the second time it was for my husband's birthday and he requested a Reese's variation.

Reese's

Snickers Cheesecake

Source: My Baking Addiction

Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (regular or chocolate)
1 stick unsalted butter; melted
3 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt

Cheesecake:
4 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each; room temperature
1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs; room temperature
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Topping:
20 Mini Snickers; cut in fourths
1/3 cup roasted peanuts; chopped
1/4 cup caramel syrup

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Tightly wrap a 9 inch springform pan in heavy duty foil. This step prevents leaks when using a water bath. You may want to place your foiled springform pan in an oven baking bag.- This ensures no water getting to your crust.
2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into the bottom of your pan and about 1 inch up the sides. Bake for 7 minutes and cool completely on a wire rack.
3. Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.
4. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with your paddle attachment, combine the sugar and cream cheese and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream and vanilla and mix until smooth.
5. Pour batter into prepared crust. Place pan into a larger pan (roasting pan if you have one, I used a disposable one) and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan.

6. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, the edges will appear to be set, but the center will still have some jiggle to it. At this point, close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. After one hour has passed, carefully remove the cheesecake from the water bath and place on a cooling rack to cool completely. Once the cake is completely cooled, place it into the refrigerator for at least 5 hours.

 7. Top with Snickers bars, peanuts and caramel.

*If you want to use Reese's instead of Snickers, chop about 20 small Reese's candies with a food chopper and sprinkle on top of cheese cake*

Storage:
A tightly covered cheesecake can be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days. The cheesecake can be stored for approximately 2 months in the freezer. I recommend you freeze this variation without the topping (Snickers, peanuts, caramel). To defrost, allow cake to defrost in the refrigerator overnight.