Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake

This is my brother-in-laws favorite birthday cake!

Crust:
20 Peanut butter sandwich cookies (such as Nutter Butter’s) - crushed
6 T. melted butter

Mix together and pat into the bottom and up the sides slightly of a 9 in. springform pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. (I find it less messy to wrap my pan in foil to catch any melted butter that might leak out)

Batter:
3 8 oz. packages of cream cheese - softened
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 t. vanilla

Filling:
8 chopped peanut butter cups - divided

Mix the cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time until incorporated. Add the vanilla. Pour 1/2 of the batter on top of the crust. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and put the 6chopped peanut butter cups on top. Add the remainder of the batter and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes. Watch carefully! The cake should be a little jiggly in the middle. Garnish with the remaining chopped peanut butter cups.

Let cool for at least 4 hours - preferably overnight!
Enjoy!