Bake It in a Cake

Moon Pies are delicious—layers of graham cookie and marshmallow all covered in chocolate. Turns out they’re even better when you put them in a peanut butter cheesecake. Here’s how to do it:

For the crust you’ll need:

1 3/4 c. chocolate cookie crumbs
2 T. dark muscovado sugar (light brown sugar will also work)
5 T. butter, melted 

For the cheesecake filling you’ll need:

32 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
4 eggs
1 c. sugar
1 c. peanut butter
4 chocolate Moon Pies

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F).

Combine the cookie crumbs, brown or muscovado sugar, and melted butter in a medium bowl until the crumbs are damp. Lightly press them into the bottom of a 10” springform pan, covering the bottom and going up the sides of the pan about two inches or so. Put that in the fridge while you make the filling.

Mix the cream cheese in a stand-mixer on medium speed. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then the sugar. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure all the ingredients are well combined. Turn the mixer back onto medium speed and add in the peanut butter. 

Pour enough cheesecake filling over the cookie crust to cover it by about an inch. More is okay. Arrange the Moon Pies on top of the cheesecake. I put one whole on in the center, and then cut three other pies in half and put them around that one, like flower petals. 

Pour the rest of the cheesecake filling over the Moon Pies, spreading to the edges. 

Bake for about 50 minutes at 325 degrees (F), until the cheescake is set. Let the cheesecake cool completely and refrigerate overnight. 

If desired, pour ganache over the cheesecake before refrigerating. Just melt 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate with a splash of heavy cream in the microwave on high for about 90 seconds. Then stir until all the chocolate and cream are combined. Pour over the cheesecake and spread the chocolate evenly over the top.