Chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake cookie recipe

You'll find chocolate chips throughout this recipe./Wikimedia Commons

A friend gave me a copy of “The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook: Recipes from the Classic Cookie to Mocha Chip Meringue Cake” by Elinore Klivans a couple of years ago and I have been in love with it ever since. Here’s a sampling of Klivan’s genius with ordinary chocolate chips, chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake bars. 

These cheesecake cookie bars have a few steps, but are worth the extra effort. They have a graham cracker crumb crust with chocolate chips, cheesecake filling that it dotted with chocolate chip cookie dough, and they’re drizzled with chocolate. 

This recipe is from “The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook: Recipes from the Classic Cookie to Mocha Chip Meringue Cake” by Elinore Klivans. ISBN 978-0811858045. This book is in print and available from your favorite book store. 

For the crust

Ingredients: 

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs

5 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Method: 

Preheat oven to 325°. 

Spray a 9-inch by 9-inch Pyrex baking pan with no-stick spray. Line the pan with 2 sheets of parchment paper laid in an “X” in the pan. Leave an inch or two hanging over each edge so you can use the paper to lift the uncut bars from the pan later. Spray the parchment paper with no-stick spray. 

Melt the cut-up butter in a microwave-safe bowl. 

Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter in a small bowl until blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

Press crumb mixture into bottom of pan and 1 inch up sides. 

Bake for the crust for 6 minutes. 

Remove to a wire rack and cool. 

For the cookie dough

Ingredients:

5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

3 tbsp. granulated white sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

¾ cup all-purpose white flour

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Method: 

Using an electric mixer, mix butter, brown sugar, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract at medium speed until smooth. 

Decrease mixer speed to low and add flour. Mix just until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips. Set aside.

For the filling 

Ingredients: 

10 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature (that’s 1 large block and most of a small one) 

¼ cup granulated white sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Method: 

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar just until smooth. Add egg and vanilla extract, beating just until blended. 

Pour batter into the baked crust. Drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls over the top of the filling.

Bake about 30 minutes, or until set. 

Remove to a wire rack and cool. 

For chocolate topping 

Ingredients:

1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

½ tbsp. butter

Method:

Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler over gently simmering water. 

Stir in the butter until the mixture is smooth. 

Pour the chocolate into a pastry bag with a fine tip and drizzle onto the cooled cookies. 

Finish cooling until room temperature. 

Lift the cookies from the pan using the parchment paper. Cut into 24 bars. 

Cook’s notes: 

• You don’t need professional equipment to drizzle the chocolate. You can get a nice drizzle using a baggie with a tiny bit of a corner clipped off, or use a clean squeeze bottle. Pour the melted chocolate mixture into the baggie or bottle and squeeze while moving briskly over the uncut cookies. 
• Just like with a traditional cheesecake, avoid overbeating the filling. You don’t want it to go soufflé on you and collapse. Aim for dense and solid.  
• Bake this as you would a cheesecake, too. Don’t over-bake to avoid a granular texture in the filling. 

If you liked these cookies, you’ll also enjoy chocolate chocolate chip cookies.

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