Mini Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecakes – Creamy mini cheesecakes sprinkled with mini chocolate chips and a surprise cookie dough center

Mmm cookie dough. Mmm cheesecake. Mmm…cookie dough cheesecake?! Oh my my my! How did you get so lucky???

I’ll tell you how…because this girl is OBSESSED with all things cookie dough so why wouldn’t I put cookie dough in cheesecake?

When I first saw this special cheesecake pan that makes perfect little cheesecakes, I just had to buy it. The first recipe I decided to try out in my new pans had to be spectacular. Naturally, my mind went back to all the rich, over-the-top cheesecakes that I’ve tried at The Cheesecake Factory: tiramisu cheesecake, peanut butter ripple cheesecake, hot fudge sundae cheesecake, and chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake. All of these were winners in my book but only one was incredible and also simple to duplicate: chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake.

And so I’ve recreated that recipe for you today…I present to you, my Mini Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecakes!

Why I love this pan

Before I get into the recipe, I wanted to talk about what inspired me to make this recipe…this cheesecake pan. I had always shied away from making mini cheesecakes because the only way I had seen them made was in a muffin tin with cupcake liners. I just don’t like the look of mini cheesecakes in cupcake liners. I feel like cheesecake is a fancy dessert and deserves a better presentation than that.

So when I saw this cupcake tin especially made for mini cheesecakes, I was so exited. Finally I had a method of making mini cheesecakes that was just as simple as using muffin tins but with a much classier presentation.

The recipe below is made for using these pans so I recommend purchasing them if you want your mini chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecakes to come out like mine.

How are these cheesecakes made

Generally speaking, cheesecake is a pretty simple desert to make. It only has a few basic ingredients: cream cheese, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. To turn that basic recipe into my mini chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecakes, I make a few slight adjustments.

First, I use light brown sugar in the recipe instead of white sugar to get that molasses flavor that you taste in chocolate chip cookie dough.

Next, I add in mini chocolate chips to the batter for obvious reasons.

Finally, I add a small ball of cookie dough to the center of the cheesecake. I keep the dough in a ball shape so that it doesn’t cook through while baking. I want the dough to stay doughy throughout the baking process.

In the recipe, I use refrigerated cookie dough in the cheesecake but I use edible, non-bake cookie dough for garnish on top of each cheesecake. This is because refrigerated cookie dough should not be eaten raw but edible, non-bake cookie dough should not be baked. So I have to use each type for different steps in the recipe.

Tips & Tricks

Here are a few helpful tips to ensure your mini chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecakes come out just like mine:

1. As mentioned above, the recipe below is made for use this special cheesecake pan. However, if you insist on using a muffin tin instead, the recipe will yield less mini cheesecakes and take a little longer to bake.
2. The key to making any cheesecake is to use room temperature cream cheese. This ensures that there are no lumps in the cream cheese mixture when beating with the sugar and eggs.
3. The cheesecakes will probably sink and/or crack a little after baking. This is okay! The whipped cream we put on top will hide all of those imperfections. You can also use chocolate ganache in place of whipped cream to hide them, too.

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites with Fudge Frosting

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake Pops

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream