“For those gloomy days,” write Charles Britton in 1992, “when everything seems to be turning into dross, I have a note of encouragement to offer: We are living in the great age of cheesecake.”
His column, which was syndicated in newspapers across the country, remarked on cheesecake’s 1980s rise to stardom, citing the two latest books on the subject, as well as “a popular Southern California restaurant chain called the Cheesecake Factory.” In that article, Britton shared six recipes for different cheesecake variations.
Ten years earlier, Patricia Turner wrote in the Bridgewater Courier-News about two cheesecake cookbooks that were out at that time. Turner was somewhat less exhilarated about the possibility of cheesecake. Perhaps the golden age had not yet begun. Or perhaps it was the fact that Turner was on a diet and admitted to not having tried any of the recipes shared in her column.
One of those recipes was for a Peanut Butter and Jelly Cheesecake – a different version than the recipe that I encountered in “Country Classics Vol. 2,” a 1980s cookbook put out by the Old Friendship United Methodist Church in West Post Office Maryland.
This recipe’s contributor, Delores Brown, was too hard to pin down amongst the population of Worcester and nearby counties, despite the small size of the historic church she may have attended. All I know is that she shared this fun and slightly oddball cheesecake variation.
What makes it a tad odd is simply the fact that peanut butter and jelly has such a reputation for being a food for children.
I couldn’t determine exactly when that reputation solidified. It’s clear from old newspapers that peanut-butter and jelly became a popular sandwich combination in the early 20th century, and enjoyed a surge in popularity during the Great Depression, for obvious reasons.
Advertisements for lunch counters featuring peanut butter and jelly ran through the 40s, and PB&J was served to military during World War II. For whatever reason (maybe the sugar content…), sometime after that, it became the domain of school brown bag lunches.
The oldest version of Delores Brown’s recipe that I could find was in the Hanover, Pennsylvania Evening Sun in 1970, sent in by Mrs. Robert Kennedy Jr. of New Oxford. Unlike the recipe shared in Turner’s 1982 article, this recipe uses grape jelly for the most iconic PB & J flavor, and perhaps the most childish.
None of which stopped me. I had some homemade concord grape jelly made by my grandmother. I used currant jelly on one half of the cheesecake, but the grape side is the side whose flavor left an impression.
I like to think of this recipe as being from a time when the cheesecake possibilities seemed endless. It was a blank slate for inspiration. And someone took that inspiration from their kid’s lunch bag.
The great age of cheesecake may be over but we’ll always have the recipes.
Recipe:
- 1 c. graham cracker crumbs
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 3 Tbsp. butter, melted
- 2 (8 oz. each) pkg cream cheese, softened
- 1 c. sugar
- 1/2 c. chunky peanut butter
- 1/2 c. milk
- 3 Tbsp. flour
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 c. grape jelly
Combine the first 3 ingredients; press into the bottom of a 9-inch spring-form pan. Bake at 325° for 10 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, combine cheese, sugar, peanut butter, milk and flour. Beat with mixer until well blended. Beat in eggs. Pour into crust. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 250° and bake 40 minutes longer. Remove from oven. Loosen cake from rim of pan. Cool on rack. When cool, remove rim from pan. Heat jelly until melted. Spoon over cooled cake. Chill before serving.
Recipe from “Country Classics, Vol. 2,” Old Friendship United Methodist Church, 1980s
