Truly Decadent Cookie Dough Cheesecake for a Special Occasion
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Of the decadent desserts I make, cookie dough cheesecake is really up there. This one, being a cheesecake, requires time and effort. However, the outcome is absolutely worth it.
Cookie dough cheesecake is rich, creamy, and studded with little nuggets of delicious cookie dough. The cheesecake itself is lightly sweetened and polka-dotted with extra mini chocolate chips for the ultimate cookie dough experience.
We have a lot to get through, so let’s just get started!
A Couple Tips for Safe Edible Cookie Dough
First things first, we’re making edible cookie dough bites. These bites are safe to eat and remain doughy once they’re baked in your cheesecake. It’s a whole miracle in and of itself. But, if you’re about to snack on these little babies as you’re baking, you need to take some precautions.
First off, there are no eggs in your cookie dough. Raw egg is not safe to eat, but it isn’t included in the cookie dough bites anyway.
Second, you’ll have to nuke our flour. Yes, you can bake it at 350ºF for 10 minutes. However, I like to save myself some time and not turn the oven on for longer than I need to. All you have to do is microwave your flour for a minute on high.
Stick a meat or candy thermometer so the tip is in the center and check that it reached 165ºF. You can always stir it up and nuke it for another 30 seconds. It’s just a lot quicker this way.
Now, if you have the self-control of a saint and know that no one is about to steal your cookie dough, you can totally skip the flour nuking. Follow the recipe as it is written, and you can save even more time.
Let’s Make Edible Cookie Dough!
So, now, we’re just going to mush our softened butter with our brown sugar until it’s pretty well combined and then try to whip it to get some air in there. This is easier with a mixer, but I usually just use a fork and a bowl since the dishes are smaller and fit better in the dishwasher.
To that, whisk in your vanilla. Then, sift in the flour and salt. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips. I think mini chocolate chips work the best, but you could also finely chop a good chocolate bar up for the job.
The very last thing to do is line a plate with parchment paper. Roll some tiny chocolate chip cookie dough nuggets, and set them on that lined plate. The parchment releases the cookie dough a lot easier than the plate does (the cookie dough will freeze onto your plate, and it’s hard to get off). As for size, I like 1/2-teaspoon balls. Pop them in the freezer while you make the rest of your cake.
2-Ingredient Graham Cracker Crust
You only need two ingredients for a graham cracker crust: graham crackers and melted butter. Don’t go crazy adding sugar or salt or anything. This is going under a cheesecake, and this sucker is going to have enough sugar and flavor without you going nuts on your crust, okay?
Take a sleeve of graham crackers, place them in a gallon zip-top bag, and beat them into submission with a rolling pin or a cast iron pan. You can smack them or roll them, just work those crackers into fine crumbs.
If you happen to have a box of pre-crushed graham cracker crumbs, you need about 1-1/2 cups of crumbs (read: one and one-half cups).
Combine your crumbs with melted butter, stirring with a fork, until it looks like wet sand. Then press the buttery crumbs into the bottom of your springform pan. I usually make a little lip around the edge about half an inch high. This has no logical purpose other than giving me a little extra bite of yummy crust when I get to the end of my slice of cookie dough cheesecake.
How to Make Smooth Cheesecake Filling
The cheesecake base is pretty darn easy. I did this with reduced-fat cream cheese and fat-free sweetened condensed milk, and it works fine. It eased my conscience a little bit, but honestly, it tastes a heck of a lot better when you use the full-fat stuff. So, go your own way. I’ve also made this with stevia, and it was gross. Don’t do that.
Please remember that good (I mean, REALLY good) cheesecake is not a diet food. It’s a splurge. Set your mind right and enjoy it, okay? Life is not meant to be wrapped in lettuce.
So, the first thing is whipping the life right out of three blocks of cream cheese. By weight, this is like 24 ounces. Whip it until it’s light and fluffy and airy. Then, you can start whipping in one egg at a time.
Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl before every new ingredient. You want to avoid a chunky batter. The cream cheese will stick to the sides a bit, so you want to make sure the eggs and cream cheese are really beaten together. Then, stream in the sweetened condensed milk. Scrape down the sides again, and make sure it creams together nicely and smoothly.
Finally, flavor it with vanilla and lemon juice. The lemon seems strange, but the acid is needed to cut through the fat and sugar. It really balances everything.
Use a slow speed to beat your mixture for 5 minutes or get busy with a rubber spatula to fold your batter a few times. This is to break up large air bubbles. For a really smooth cake, you want to remove as many bubbles as you can.
Put the Cookie Dough in the Cheesecake
You now have a nice smooth batter, so let’s assemble your perfect cheesecake. Start by pouring your batter into the pan with your prepared graham cracker crust. Don’t worry too much about spreading it evenly. It’ll get smooth after the next step.
Lift your pan about two inches over your counter and slam it down. Essentially, you want to drop the pan from a short distance a handful of times to bring large air bubbles to the surface. Keep going until you’re happy with the smoothness of the surface.
You can even take a toothpick and pop any errant bubbles.
Now, you’ll drop those frozen nuggets of cookie dough around your cookie dough. They’re going to sink a bit, but you’re going to help them out a bit by poking them gently with your finger. Make sure the batter fills back in over the dough bites.
Tips for Baking a Perfect Cheesecake
Now I have a few tips for making a perfect cheesecake. I know I share these with every cheesecake recipe, but you know what? You always need to know these things.
First, preheat the oven with a rimmed baking sheet on the lowest shelf. You’ll be adding water to this pan when you put in the cheesecake to help it steam and stay creamy and soft.
The baking sheet also acts as an insurance policy if you have a leaky pan. With a lower-quality springform pan, you might have some butter leakage from your crust. You can always wrap your pan with some foil if you think that might be a serious issue.
Second, do not open your oven under any circumstances while it is baking. When the timer goes off, turn the oven off, and STILL DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN. Reset the time for two hours and let the oven cool while the cheesecake is in there. This gently cools your cheesecake and continues to bathe it in steam.
You’ll prevent large cracks this way, and you’ll also allow the cheesecake to set all the way through. Once the time is up, move your cheesecake to the fridge to chill for at least four hours, but it’s best chilled overnight. Never serve cheesecake warm.
The Optional Chocolate Drizzle Topping
Decorating your cheesecake is completely optional. However, for those of you who love a fancy-looking dessert, may I recommend a chocolate drizzle.
This is a simple process of melting chocolate chips with heavy cream and salt via bain-marie. I think the salt is kind of necessary, but you can skip it if you aren’t a fan. Once it’s mostly smooth with a few errant chunks of whole chocolate, remove the bowl from your pot of simmering water, and continue stirring until the whole mixture is smooth.
You can drizzle it from a spoon, or you can transfer it to a piping bag with a tiny tip snipped off. The piping bag gives you more control, but the spoon gives you a rustic look.
The chocolate will set up slightly in the fridge, but it should remain fudgy and soft enough to cut through without it cracking.
Tips for Serving Cheesecake
One last section for tips. When you go to serve your cake, you want nice clean slices. Do not use a serrated blade. I prefer a very sharp chef’s knife. I also like to run it under hot water and run it around the outside of your cheesecake before removing the springform. Then, wipe the blade clean as you slice (wipe it clean between each slice). A clean knife means a clean cut. Clean cuts mean perfect slices.
To make the plate extra pretty, grab some canned whipped cream. This is going to save you time whipping your own cream and filling a piping bag with a fancy tip. Squeeze a pretty, fluffy pile of cream on the plate next to your slice of cheesecake and sprinkle with extra mini chocolate chips.
If you’re out to really impress, you can dust the plate with sifted cocoa powder before putting anything else on the plate. This really looks lovely, but honestly, this is a trick I only pull out for truly special occasions – birthdays, anniversaries, fancy parties, etc.
For those nights, you’re eating a slice in your jammies while watching Gilmore Girls reruns, squirt that whipped cream on top, and take it easy on yourself.
The Cookie Dough Cheesecake Tool Kit
Now, let’s address the tools you’ll need to make your cheesecake. These are my recommendations:
- Calphalon 10-inch Springform Pan
- KitchenAid Stand Mixer
- Norpro Half Sheet Pan
- Chicago Cutlery Chef’s Knife
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Comment below if you have questions, concerns, or opinions. And tag me @ellejayathome on Instagram or Twitter if you share pictures from any of my recipes. I love to hear from you!
Cookie Dough Cheesecake
Equipment
- Stand mixer or large mixing bowl and electric hand mixer
- 10-inch springform pan
- Sheet pan
- Dinner plate
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
Cookie Dough Bits
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp pink himalayan sea salt
- ½ cup flour microwave 1 min on high to kill bacteria
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 cup honey graham crackers pulverized
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter melted
Cheesecake Base
- 3 8-oz packages reduced-fat cream cheese
- 3 eggs
- 14 oz can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Optional Chocolate Drizzle
- ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 Pinch pink himalayan sea salt
Instructions
- To make the cookie dough, cream the butter and sugars together. Mix in the vanilla and milk. Fold in the heat-treated flour, salt, and mini chocolate chips.
- Form the dough into small teaspoon-sized balls. Roll them between your palms for a smooth exterior. Place the balls on a parchment paper-lined plate in the freezer while you make the rest of the cheesecake. You can also make these ahead of time and save them in the fridge for up to 48 hours or freeze for up to 3 months. (See Notes)
- Place a rimmed baking sheet on the lower rack of your oven. Preheat the oven to 300ºF.
- Using the food processor, crush the graham crackers into fine crumbs. Pour the melted butter in, and mix thoroughly.
- Press the buttered crumbs firmly into the bottom and slightly up the sides of your springform pan. I prefer a ½-inch lip of crust around the sides rather than going all the way up.
- In a large mixing bowl, whip the cream cheese until fluffy. Scrape down the sides. Add the eggs in one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl between each egg. Then, mix in the sweetened condensed milk. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again making sure there are no remaining clumps s of cream cheese. Finally, beat in the lemon juice and vanilla extract. Using a rubber spatula, fold gently to remove large air bubbles.
- Pour the cheesecake filling over the graham cracker crust. Wiggle the pan around and firmly, but gently, tap the pan against the counter to bring any remaining air bubbles to the surface. Pop resistant bubbles with a toothpick.
- Drop in the little balls of cookie dough evenly throughout the cheesecake. Poke them down a little with your finger and jiggle the pan so the cheesecake batter fills in over the top of all the balls.
- Place your cheesecake on the top rack of your oven, and pour 1 cup of lukewarm water into the pan that you placed in the oven at the preheat stage. Promptly close your oven.
- Bake the cheesecake at 300ºF for 75 minutes. When the timer goes off, turn off the heat, but leave the oven sealed shut for 2 hours to allow the steam to continue cooking your cake.
- Chill the cake in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- Once the cake is cold, gently melt the chocolate chips with the coconut oil and salt in the microwave until glossy. Drizzle all over the top of the cheesecake in a pretty pattern, if you wish. Return to the refrigerator, covered, for at least 2 hours. Chilling overnight is best.
- To serve, run a paring knife under HOT water and carefully trace the knife between the crust and the springform pan. Gently unlatch the springform and remove the base from the sides. Admire your craftsmanship for a moment… then once again using a clean, hot knife, slice the cake and serve.
- Serves 12-16 slices.
