Peanut Butter Jelly and Banana Sandwich Cheesecake
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Recipe type: Dessert
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 12
 
All the wonderful makings of a peanut butter jelly and banana sandwich baked into a cheesecake (without the crust!)
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust:
  • 2 Cups of Crumbled Shortbread Cookies
  • 5 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter; Melted
Peanut Butter Layer:
  • ½ Cup Creamy Peanut Butter (I like Skippy Natural the best)
  • ⅔ Cup Powdered Sugar
  • ¼ Cup Brown Sugar
Banana Layer:
  • 2 Ripe Bananas, sliced (speckled skins are best)
Filling:
  • 2 Cups of Cream Cheese (use two 8oz. bars of cream cheese; not the tubbed/spreadable kind)
  • 1 Cup Sugar
  • 2 Large, Whole Eggs
  • The juice from ½ of a lemon
  • 2½ tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
  • ¼ Cup Heavy Cream
  • 1 Cup Strawberry Preserves (I use Trader Joe’s “Fresh Strawberries” preserves. The larger the chunks of strawberry, the better)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 300º
For Crust:
  1. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to smash shortbread cookies into crumbles. Do not use a food processor or blender; that will turn your cookies into goo.
  2. Whisk shortbread and melted butter together thoroughly.
  3. Using a glass pie plate, pour mixture onto pie plate and press firmly to the bottom and up the sides.
  4. Put crust into the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and put on a cooling rack.
Raise oven temperature to 350°
Peanut Butter Layer:
  1. Put peanut butter and powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Using a fork, smash the powdered sugar into the peanut butter until it creates a mixture of small sugar/peanut butter balls.
  2. Add brown sugar and continue to smash it into the peanut butter until well mixed.
  3. Pour the peanut butter mixture into the pie crust (it does not matter whether or not the crust has cooled).
  4. Gently smooth out for an even surface.
For Filling:
  1. In a large bowl, blend together Cream Cheese, Eggs, Sugar, Lemon Juice, Vanilla, and Heavy Cream for about 5 minutes, or until creamy-smooth (no lumps).
  2. Using a spatula, gently fold Strawberry Preserves into the Cream Cheese mixture.
  3. Once your filling has been prepared, lay Banana Slices on top of the Peanut Butter Layer in the pie crust.
  4. Slowly pour Cream Cheese mixture on top of Bananas. Using a spatula, smooth out the top of the cake.
  5. Place the Cheesecake into the oven for 35-45 minutes, until the top is golden brown. It will not be firm; that is where the chilling process comes in. Remove from oven. Place in the refrigerator to cool for at least 4 hours.
Recipe by The Pescetarian and the Pig at https://www.thepescetarianandthepig.com/2011/06/16/peanut-butter-jelly-and-banana-sandwich-cheesecake/