Cheers to the Weekend: Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake

You know when you’re sitting at home late at night, binging on—oh I don’t know—Crazy Ex Girlfriend on Netflix, and you’re on your third glass of wine, and all of a sudden you get a craving for something sweet? You’re really jonesing for chocolate chip cookies, but not just any kind of chocolate chip cookies, no you’re better than that. You’re craving warm, fresh out of the oven, chocolate chip cookies. The kind you make at home, from scratch, because you deserve it. At the same time though you’re also craving cheesecake because there is never a wrong time for cheesecake. So instead of having to decide on either a chocolate chip cookie or a slice of cheesecake (I won’t do that to you, I’m no monster) you now don’t have to make that difficult decision because this Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake is here to put those late night cravings to rest. 

Super fancy and definitely over the top, this cookie cheesecake is everything that Cheers to the Weekend is all about. It’s the perfect dessert to make this weekend because you’ll actually have the time to make it, but more importantly you’ll have time to devour it over the course of three days. So I’ll tell you how to go about this so that you don’t get it wrong. Make a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough tonight and pop it in the fridge. Then tomorrow, you can whip up the cheesecake and keep it chilled in the fridge. Then all day Sunday, just sit back, relax and enjoy your alone time on the couch with this cheesecake. Just you, the TV and a fork, that’s all you need. 

In order to get this cheesecake to taste just like a chocolate chip cookie, we need to make a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough. It’s the only way. This is a basic cookie dough, very simple since it’s really just going on the bottom for our crust. Nothing fancy. Cream together the butter and sugars and then beat in the eggs and vanilla.  

**Note: If you don’t have time or the patience to make the cookie dough from scratch, feel free to use store-bought cookie dough instead! No one will know!**Once creamy, add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Then fold in the chocolate chips until well combined. Like I said, this isn’t the time to get all fancy with the chocolate chip cookie dough. There’s no need to brown the butter or add nuts or anything crazy like that. This is as simple as it gets. (Don’t get me wrong, I love fancy chocolate chip cookies and if these were going to be eaten by themselves, then you better believe browned butter and pistachios would be involved!)Press about half of the dough onto the bottom of a 9 or 10-inch springform pan. Make sure to press it out onto an even layer. Remember this is the crust for our decadent cheesecake. 

**Note: We’re going to bake this cheesecake in a water bath, so in order to prevent water from seeping into the pan and sogging up our cheesecake, it’s important to wrap the outside of the pan with foil.**So place the pan in the fridge to chill until we’re ready to fill. Let’s turn our attention to the cheesecake filling. Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy. Then stir in the vanilla extract and eggs, one at a time. Stir in the sour cream and heavy cream until completely smooth. Spoon a third of the batter onto the crust in an even layer. Sprinkle with a third of the mini chocolate chips. Then top with another third of batter and sprinkle with a third of mini chips. Then finally top with the remaining batter and with the remaining mini chocolate chips. 

**Note: This method of layering the cheesecake filling and mini chocolate chips will ensure that the chocolate chips don’t sink down to the bottom of the cheesecake and that they’re evenly distributed.**In the meantime, bake off the remaining cookie dough into small cookies, using a small ice cream scoop. This will be used for the garnish/decoration on top of our cheesecake. Bake them off until golden brown and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. You can bake these off in advance and then wrap them in plastic or store them in an airtight container until ready to decorate the cheesecake. To ensure that the cheesecake bake off evenly and doesn’t crack (too much) on top, it’s best to bake it off in a water bath. So place the cheesecake into a large rectangle baking dish with high sides. Then pour hot water into the larger dish, about half way up the sides of the cheesecake pan. Bake until puffed up, golden brown and the center no longer wiggles, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Once done, turn off the oven and prop it open with a wooden spoon and let it cool down to room temperature, about 1 hour. Once cooled, wrap the cheesecake in plastic wrap and chill until set, for about 4 hours or overnight. Overnight would be best. 

**Note: I find that all cheesecakes are easier to cut and serve once they’re fully chilled and set. So I recommend making this the day before you plan on serving it. Then that way you can keep it in the fridge overnight and it’ll be ready the next day.**To decorate the top of the cheesecake, whip up a batch of fresh whipped cream. Pun intended. Beat heavy whipping cream on high, along with powdered sugar and vanilla extract, until soft peaks form, about 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer the whipped cream to a piping bag and pipe out little mounds of cream along the edge of the cheesecake. Then cut those cookies we made earlier in half and place them into those whipped cream mounds. 

**Tip: You could also just decorate the top with whipped cream and mini chocolate chips or use store bought cookies for this part as well!**If you want to switch things up a bit, feel free to use peanut butter cookie dough as the base/crust, and then instead of mini chocolate chips throughout the filling, try using those peanut butter chips that you can find in the baking aisle. Then decorate the top with peanut butter cookies! It’d would be just as delicious as this one!

 
If you can’t coerce your friends and family to eat all of the cheesecake in one day, don’t even sweat it. You can easily wrap it up and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. Although, I’ll be surprised if it lasts for that long. It’s a great dessert to make and share with friends, family (or even neighbors like I did). If you make this recipe, along with any other recipe from the site, be sure to snap a picture and share it on Instagram or Facebook and tag me and hashtag it with #CandidAppetite or #TheCandidAppetite. Once you start making these Cheers to the Weekend recipes, be sure to also tag it with #TCAweekend! I’ll be monitoring it all closely and share my favorites throughout! Happy Cooking!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake is the ultimate dessert! Two worlds colliding into one. Chocolate Chip Cookies meet a rich and luscious cheesecake!

Servings 8 to 12 servings

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 50 minutes mins

Ingredients

Cookie Dough Crust and Garnish

• 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cheesecake Filling

• 4 8-oz blocks cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs room temperature
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Whipped cream topping

• 1/2 cup heaving whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.
• To make the chocolate chip cookie dough crust, using a mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stir in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract. In a medium bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add it to the mixing bowl and stir until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
• Wrap the outside of a 9 or 10-inch springform pan tightly with aluminum foil, and spray the inside and sides with cooking spray. Add half of the cookie dough to the bottom of the pan and press it down onto the bottom in an even layer. Place in the fridge until ready to fill. In the meantime, scoop out the remaining cookie dough using a small ice cream scoop, onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake until golden brown around the edges, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on pans.
• To make the cheesecake filling, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and continue to beat for another 3 minutes. Stir in the salt and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the sour cream and heavy cream until well combined.
• Pour a third of the cheesecake filling into the pan over the crust, spreading it out onto an even layer. Sprinkle with a third of the mini chocolate chips. Top with another third of the filling, spreading it out once again, and then sprinkle with another third of the chocolate chips. Spoon the remaining batter and sprinkle with the remaining chocolate chips. Place the cheesecake into a larger rectangular baking dish, with high sides. Pour hot water into the larger dish until it comes about half way up the cheesecake pan.
• Bake until puffed up, golden brown and the center no longer jiggles, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Turn off the oven and prop the door open with a wooden spoon and let it cool down in there for 1 hour. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until cold and set, at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Once you're ready to cut and serve, make the homemade whipped cream. Beat the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla on high until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe out whipped cream along the edge of the cheesecake. Cut those cookies we baked off earlier in half and decorate the top with it. Then just cut and serve. The cheesecake can be wrapped up with plastic wrap and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Enjoy!

Author: The Candid Appetite