Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Mini-Cheesecakes Recipe

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Mini-Cheesecakes Recipe

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 cup butter

Cheesecake

• 8 oz. Philadelphia cream cheese
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Instructions Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with silicone liners or mist lightly with cooking spray and set aside. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder + salt. Cream together the butter and powdered sugar until blended. While it’s blending, crack your egg in a small bowl and beat it gently with your extracts of choice to combine. Add the egg/flavoring mixture and beat to incorporate. Gradually add the flour mixture until a soft dough forms. When most of the dough sticks to the paddle of your mixer, it should be ready. Also, SugarBelle says when she gently presses her finger to the dough, it yields rather than sticks. Turn your dough onto a flat, clean work space very lightly dusted with flour. Separate the dough into two even balls and make a nice dent in the middle of each. Take a butter knife and scrape some food coloring out from each bottle, then wipe the coloring into the dough ball dent (one color per ball). Now, here’s the cool trick: start folding the dough in and around the colored dent in the middle. When you work the dough outside—>in, it will decrease the likelihood you’ll get dye on your fingers once you’ve achieved the color you like, you’re ready to make cookies! Take a small Tablespoon-sized ball of dough from each color and press the dough balls together to form one big ball. Gently roll out the two-toned dough ball into a long snake shape. Starting from one end, roll up cinnamon roll-style until you have a swirly cookie. Roll the edges of the cookie in sprinkles, if desired. Bake the cookies for 7-8 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking time. Do not overbake them! Allow to cool on the cookie sheets about 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. I’ve found this recipe easily makes two dozen cookies, and they stay quite moist and soft for several days when stored airtight.

Cookie Dough

• 5 tbsp. butter
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2/3 cup chocolate chips

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Spray mini-cheesecake pan with cooking spray (you can also use a muffin pan with cupcake liners). Set aside.
2. Mix the melted butter, sugar and graham cracker crumbs until thoroughly combined. Press the mixture into the bottom and going up the sides of the prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 6 minutes. Remove pan to a cooling rack. Leave your oven on while you prepare the dough.
3. While the crust is cooling, prepare the chocolate chip cookie dough. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth and thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Stir in the flour a little bit at a time, on low-speed, and mix until just incorporated. Add the chocolate chips and blend in with a spoon. Set aside.
4. In another bowl, using a mixer, cream together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in the egg and vanilla on low-speed just until incorporated. Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared crust.
5. Using your hand, form round teaspoon-sized clumps, and distribute the cookie dough onto the top of the cheesecake batter.
6. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the top (cookie dough) feels dry. Since cooking times vary with different ovens, I’d recommend checking them at 20 minutes.
7. Move pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
8. Remove mini-cheesecakes by pushing up on the bottom of pan. 
9. Chill in refrigerator overnight or for at least a couple of hours.