Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake

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This is the ultimate chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake. It has a chocolate chip cookie crust, cookie dough baked in a chocolate chip cheesecake, and topped with chocolate and more edible cookie dough. If you are a cheesecake lover or a cookie dough lover, you are going to love this cheesecake!

The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake

This is the best chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake because it has cookie dough of some sort in every single layer of this cheesecake!

First, it has a chocolate chip cookie crust. A cookie crust is so much better than a regular graham cracker crust! Since you pre-bake it before the cheesecake, it holds up firm like a regular crust does.

This cheesecake also has edible cookie dough. It is made without eggs and no rising agent so it doesn’t spread in the oven. The cookie dough is also safe enough to eat, if you decide to snack on it while baking.

The edible cookie dough is frozen before it is added to the cheesecake. Since it is cold, it stays as cookie dough while the cheesecake bakes. It is seriously so good.

This whole cheesecake is topped with whipped cream and chocolate ganache. The whipped cream is homemade and light and fluffy which goes so well with this cheesecake!

Sound daunting? Don’t worry! I have all the tips and tricks on how to bake this cheesecake! Now you won’t have to worry about under baking, over baking, cheesecake cracks, or the dread cream cheese lumps in the cheesecake!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Crust

This part is actually super easy! If you have made chocolate chip cookies from scratch, then you can make this dough! It is the same thing but in a smaller quantity for the crust.

The key here is to make sure the butter and eggs are room temperature before you start baking. Room temperature butter is so much easier to aerate with the sugar and room temperature eggs gives the crust a better rise.

After you make the dough, place in the fridge for 30 minutes. It will be too sticky before chilling, which makes it so hard to mold into the spring form pan. Let it chill before using.

Speaking of spring form pans, use a 9 inch quality pan. The cheap ones won’t be able to seal properly with all of the layers.

Once the cookie dough is chilled, mold the cookie dough into the crust into the pan. The cookie dough should come half way up the sides of the pan. Use the back of a measuring cup to compact the crust down. Make sure to compact the crust along the edges so it doesn’t get too thick.

Next, bake it for 18 minutes. This part is important. If you don’t bake it, you will end with raw dough that won’t be able to hold the weight of the cheesecake.

The crust should be golden brown when done baking and puffed up a bit. Let it cool while you make everything else!

Can This Dough Be Made Ahead of Time?

Yes it can! Cover the dough and let it chill in the fridge overnight. It will keep in the fridge up to 3 days.

When you are ready to bake, leave it on the counter for 2 hours before baking.

Edible Cookie Dough Balls

Now this is what we are here for! Edible cookie dough balls that bake right into the cheesecake. Since there are no eggs, you can eat it straight away, although I think the cookie dough tastes better when it’s cold.

Since you are going to end up freezing these balls, you can make them a few days ahead of time. If not making ahead of time, start making them while the cookie dough crust is chilling.

What binds the cookie dough together is milk. I used whole milk, but you can use whatever milk you prefer. Making this dough is almost exactly same as the cookie dough crust, so it is very easy to do.

The main difference is once the dry ingredients are added to the dough, you will need to blend it for a few minutes as it comes together. Then, you can add the chocolate chips.

Next, roll up the dough into tiny cookie dough balls. This is a bit time consuming and takes 15 minutes to roll all of the dough. The balls should be about the size of a blueberry. When I made them they were all varying sizes. As long as they are pretty small, it will be okay.

Place them all on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer. By the time the crust is done baking, the balls should be cold enough.

Tips On Making Creamy Cheesecake Batter

Here all my best tips on making a cheesecake with no cracks.

1. Make sure to use name brand cream cheese– Off brand is just not the same thing. Off brand is usually more lumpy and a bit yellow looking. Also, do not use low fat cream cheese. We need the full fat Philadelphia bricks of cream cheese.
2. All refrigerated items MUST be at room temperature before baking– This is so important! Room temperature cream cheese is easier to blend until smooth and has a completely different texture than if it was cold. This is the first step to not getting cream cheese lumps in the batter.
3. Use a mixer– I use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. You will need to beat the cream cheese on medium-high for 1 minute before even adding the sugar. To get a smooth batter, you need a strong mixer to beat the cream cheese until smooth.
4. Scrape the bowl– You are going to want to scrape the bowl so many times while making this batter. There can be lumps of cream cheese that gets stuck of the bottom of the bowl, which is another way you can get lumps of cream cheese in the cheesecake.
5. Turn the mixer to low once you add the eggs– Once you start to add the eggs, the mixer has to be on low. Too much air being whipped into the eggs can cause air bubbles. The air bubbles will expand and cause cracks in the cheesecake. So, go low and slow!
6. Bake the cheesecake in a water bath– I will go into more specifics later, but the cheesecake HAS to be baked in a water bath. The moisture helps prevent the cheesecake from cracking. Dry cheesecake always cracks.

The Best Water Bath Technique

I will go to my grave saying this is the best water bath technique! Traditional water baths will have the spring form pan wrapped in aluminum foil and placed in a roasting pan with steaming water and baked in the oven.

I have tried this multiple different times, and water always got into my crust and it became soggy, which is the worst!

To prevent this, place the spring form pan in a 10 inch cake pan. The cake pan acts as a barrier from the water, but the cheesecake still has plenty of access to the moisture from the hot water.

Then, place the cake pan in a roasting pan or a 12X16 pan. Once the cheesecake is ready to bake, pour in the boiling water into the roasting pan. Then, immediately place the pan in the oven to bake.

This way means no water gets into the pan and the cheesecake still gets a proper water bath.

Also, I have tried with having a roasting pan full of hot water on the bottom rack of the oven and placing the cheesecake on the top rack. This doesn’t work unfortunately. The steam from the water doesn’t engulf the cheesecake and it will lead to a cheesecake that cracks.

How To Tell When The Cheesecake Is Done Baking

Once the cheesecake batter is ready, fold in the mini chocolate chips and 2/3rds of the frozen cookie dough balls. Then, pour the batter on top of the cookie crust.

Next, bake the cheesecake for 70-80 minutes.

When the cheesecake is done baking, it should have slightly golden brown edges, no cracks, the edges will be set, and middle has a slight jiggle. If the middle jiggles a lot, then bake for another 10 minutes and check again.

Crack the oven door slightly and turn off the oven and let it sit for 30 minutes. This allows the cheesecake to slowly cool down. If it initally cools down fast, it will be too much and the cheesecake will crack.

After the 30 minutes, take the spring form pan out of the water bath and on a cooling rack. The cheesecake HAS to cool completely before wrapping and storing in the fridge.

How Long Does The Cheesecake Take to Cool

The cheesecake has to cool for at least 6 hours before you take it out of the spring form pan. I usually prefer to make this a day before I need it, so it can cool overnight.

Cheesecake is the best when it is cold, if you take the cheesecake out before it has cooled it will a big soupy mess.

Also, once it cools it will become more dense and creamy. Trust me, it is worth wait!

How To Make Smooth Chocolate Ganache

The chocolate ganache on top completes this whole cheesecake. It is smooth chocolaty and allows to get the pretty chocolate drips down the side of the cake.

Luckily it is SUPER easy to make!

First, start with the chocolate chips in a bowl. Then, heat the heavy cream in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Heat the heavy cream until it is hot and steaming, then pour it over the chocolate chips.

Let the heavy cream sit on the chocolate chips for 1 minute and 30 seconds. This gives the heavy cream time to melt the chocolate. Then, use a rubber spatula to stir it until smooth and glossy.

Save about 1/4 of the ganache for drizzling on top of the whipped cream. Pour the rest of the chocolate on top of cheesecake. Use an icing spatula to spread the chocolate to the edges and a little over the edges. This is how to get the pretty chocolate drips!

Next, place the cheesecake back in the fridge for 10 minutes. This lets the chocolate ganache set and it is easier to decorate the rest of the cheesecake.

Decorating The Cheesecake

After you make the whipped cream, you can pipe it on top of the cheesecake. I used a wilton 1M tip to get swirl border.

Next, drizzle the rest of the chocolate ganache over the whipped cream and the rest of the cheesecake. I used a squeeze bottle, but you can use a piping bag or spoon to drizzle the chocolate. If the chocolate isn’t as pour-able, you can heat it back in the microwave for 10 seconds.

Now you can decorate the rest of the chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake with the cookie dough balls and mini chocolate chips!

How To Cut The Perfect Slice

After all the hard work, when you slice into the cheesecake, we want to see the cookie dough baked into the cheesecake!

To get the perfect slice, heat up a sharp knife and cut a slice of cheesecake. Between each cut, make sure to clean and wipe the knife. You should end up with a clean cheesecake slice!

Storing The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake

Store this cheesecake in the fridge in a cake carrier. You can also store the cheesecake cut into slices in airtight containers. The cheesecake is good up to 5 days in the fridge.

Can This Cheesecake Be Frozen

Yes! This cheesecake can be frozen. After the inital 6 hours of chilling and before you decorate the cheesecake, wrap it firmly in cling wrap and then with aluminum foil. Keep the cheesecake in the freezer for up to 30 days.

To thaw, leave on the counter for 1 hour. Then, decorate it!

Other Cheesecake Recipes To Try

• Cookie dough cheesecake bars
• Monster cookie cheesecake
• Turtle cheesecake
• Blueberry cheesecake

Make sure to tag me on Instagram @stephaniesweettreats and leave me a review below if you made this cheesecake. I hope you loved it! To get more ideas follow me on Pinterest.