Cookie dough is great but I was trying to think of a way to make it a little better…CHEESECAKE.
Cheesecake makes a lot of things better, so I decided to make a cookie dough cheesecake.
This was soooo much better than I expected. I knew it would taste good, but I didn’t realise how good the different textures would be together. The cookie layer at the base of the cheesecake added a soft chewiness, as well as a lot of flavour which made this cheesecake taste amazing!
Video Tutorial
Baked cookie dough
For this cheesecake, I didn’t use completely raw cookie dough, I used baked cookie dough instead.
You might be thinking ‘ISN’T THAT JUST A COOKIE ???’.
Basically, you know how when you go to desserts shops, or Pizza Hut, you can order cookie dough.
This cookie dough isn’t raw. It has been baked, but not completely. It’s not raw, but not cooked, it is in the middle. This leaves you with a super soft, gooey cookie.
This is the type of cookie dough I was going for.
I have made cheesecake with raw edible cookie dough before, I didn’t like it.
Personally, I think this way is better. The cookie dough ends up tasting soft, fudgy and a little chewy.
It’s so much better, I could be lying to you but I am not. Just trust me on this.
Ingredients for the cookie dough
The first thing we are going to make is the cookie dough. So here are the ingredients I used to make it:
- Unsalted butter – I like to use unsalted butter, and then add salt separately so that I can control the amount. Salted butter does work though, just don’t add any extra salt.
- Sugar – I used a mixture of both white and brown sugar. The brown sugar is going to add some extra flavour and some chewiness.
- Vanilla – for flavour.
- Eggs
- Plain flour – also known as all-purpose flour.
- Corn flour – also known as corn starch. This is going to give the cookie a softer texture.
- Salt – to enhance the flavours.
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Ground cinnamon – this is optional, it’s just for some extra flavour.
- Chocolate chips – I used milk chocolate chips, but use whichever kind you like.
THIS COOKIE DOUGH IS SOFT
Just a heads up, this cookie dough is softer than your typical cookies.
I used less flour in this, just so that after it is baked, it is more soft and gooey.
When normally making cookies, you can’t really do this because if you use less flour, the cookies will just spread way too much.
But when baking the dough in a tin, like we are doing today, we can get away with doing this because the cookie dough has no where to go, it’s entrapped in a confined space.
So all I’m trying to say is, don’t be alarmed if the dough looks too soft!
Baking the cookie
When it comes to baking it, you want to add most of the dough (we’re saving some for later) into a greased and lined 8 inch tin, then bake it at 180c/350f.
We’re not going to bake this for too long, just about 20-25 minutes.
All we are looking for is the cookie to be slightly golden brown on top. It won’t be completely cooked, but again this is the goal.
The cheesecake
Now that the cookie base has been made, we can move onto making the cheesecake batter.
For this cheesecake, we’re making a baked cheesecake.
My cheesecake batter doesn’t have any eggs in it. I always get asked why I still bake it.
I guess technically you don’t have too, but baking it does make a huge difference. The corn flour that I add to the batter, helps thicken the cheesecake as it bakes, which makes the texture so much better.
So this is why I still bake it!
Anyway here are the ingredients I used to make the cheesecake batter:
- Cream cheese – full fat cream cheese is always best to use.
- Granulated sugar – caster sugar works too.
- Corn flour – also known as corn starch. This is going to thicken the batter as it bakes, giving you a rich creamy cheesecake.
- Vanilla – for flavour.
- Double cream – also known as heavy cream.
- Melted white chocolate – this won’t make the cheesecake taste white chocolate flavoured. It is just there to help with the texture, so make sure to add it.
Once the batter is made, we’re going to add some chocolate chips. And then with the cookie dough that was saved, roll it into balls and then throw this into the batter too.
What baking tin to use
To make this cheesecake, I used a regular 8 inch round cake tin.
Typically when people make cheesecakes, they use a springform or loose bottomed cake tin.
Either works, but let’s quickly talk about them.
When using a springform/loose bottomed tin, it makes it much easier to get the cheesecake out of the tin once it has set.
The only reason why I don’t love using one is because we are baking the cheesecake in a water bath. So because of this, when using a springform tin, you need to wrap the outside of it a few times with tinfoil. This will stop any water from getting inside of the tin.
For me, no matter how many times I wrap my tin, water still always manages to get inside. So instead I just use regular tin, so I don’t have to worry about this.
This might just be a personal problem though. Most people do use springform tins and have no problems, so honestly use whichever you find easier.
Side note, if you are using regular tin, it is a little harder to get the cheesecake out of it, but here’s how I do it:
- I heat the sides and bottom of the tin with a blow torch. Or you can use a hot towel.
- Then place a piece of baking paper on top of the cheesecake and flip it over.
- Now I just aggressively shake the tin until the cheesecake comes out. You could also run a knife around the edge of the tin to help.
- Once it comes out, flip the cheesecake back so it’s the right way up.
Again, this is a little harder than using a springform tin. So use whichever you’re more comfortable with using.
A water bath
If you’ve never baked anything in a water bath before, let me give a quick explanation.
Water baths are essentially…baths of water.
All you are doing is getting a large roasting or baking tray, that has high sides.
You add your unbaked cheesecake into this, then fill the larger tray with boiling water. Fill it until the water reaches about halfway up the sides of the tin with the cheesecake in.
Then you just carefully place this all into your pre-heated oven.
Why is a water bath used?
Cheesecakes are dramatic, they don’t like drastic changes in temperatures, they don’t like getting too hot.
So a water bath regulates the temperature of your cheesecake as it bakes; it stops it from getting too hot.
This helps give you a cheesecake that has a smoother creamier texture and also one that has no cracks on the top. So make sure to use the water bath, it makes a huge difference!
LEAVE THE CHEESECAKE TO COOL FOR AN HOUR IN THE OVEN
I am sorry for yelling, it’s not that serious I guess.
But after the cheesecake has baked, I recommend turning the oven off, opening the door slightly, and then leaving the cheesecake to cool in there for about an hour.
Remember 2.5 seconds ago when I said cheesecakes don’t like drastic changes in temperature…they really don’t.
So letting it cool down slowly in the oven gives you the best results!
Leaving the cheesecake to chill in the fridge overnight
Ok so I know there is a lot of waiting in this recipe. It will be worth it in the end I promise.
But once the cheesecake has cooled completely, you then need to leave it in your fridge overnight.
THIS CHEESECAKE NEEDS TIME TO SET.
If you try to take it out of the tin too early, it will be a disaster. So give it some time, again the wait will be worth it.
The next day
Now that it is the next day, all we need to do is take the cheesecake out of the tin and then you can decorate it if you want.
I just piped some whipped cream on top then added some mini cookies too. This is very optional, it added nothing to the taste. But it made the cheesecake look nice in my personal opinion.
But then after that you can dig in!
I make a lot of cheesecakes, here are some other cheesecake recipes that I think you might like:
Cookie Dough
Cheesecake
Ingredients
- For the cookie dough:
200g unsalted butter
120g brown sugar
120g granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
300g plain flour
50g corn flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional, but it's a nice touch)
150g chocolate chips
- For the cheesecake:
600g full fat cream cheese
150g granulated sugar
45g corn flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
220ml double cream, warm (just heat it in your microwave for 30-60 seconds)
120g white chocolate, melted
100g chocolate chips
- Extras:
Some whipped cream, to pipe on top (optional)
Some mini cookies, for the top (also optional)
Directions
- Making the cookie dough:
- Start by pre-heating your oven to 180c/350f. Also grease an 8 inch cake tin, then line the bottom and sides of it with baking paper.
- In a pot, add the butter and place this over medium heat. Keep heating this, whiles stirring, until the butter turns a light brown colour. This will go through stages, it will start gently bubbling, then more aggressively, then it will become foamy. Once the foam subsides, this is when it will be brown.
- Take this off the heat and pour the brown butter into a large bowl. Add both sugars and vanilla into this, aggressively whisk this for 1 minute. Now add the eggs and aggressively whisk again, for about 30 seconds.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add this into the other bowl and mix everything together, just until you can no longer see any flour.
- Now mix in the chocolate chips.
- Weigh 200g of this dough and put this into a bowl. Place this into your fridge, we will use this later.
- Add the rest of the dough into your prepared tin, spread it out, then bake for around 20-25 minutes. It won't be completely cooked after this time, we just want it to be a slightly brown colour on top.
- Take it out of the oven and leave to cool.
- Making the cheesecake:
- Lower the heat of your oven to 170c/325f.
- In a large bowl, add the cream cheese, sugar, corn flour and vanilla. Mix all this until combined.
- Add half of the warm cream into this, whisk this in, then whisk in the remaining cream.
- Now whisk in the melted white chocolate.
- Get the cookie dough that you saved and roll this into small balls. Add these balls into the cheesecake batter, as well as the chocolate chips. Fold these in.
- Add this batter into your tin, then smooth this out.
- Baking the cheesecake:
- Add this tin into a large baking/roasting tray that has high sides. Pour some boiling water into this until it reaches about halfway up the tin with the cheesecake in it.
- Carefully place this into your oven and bake at 170c/325f, for around 45-50 minutes. It is done when the sides look set but the centre is still slightly jiggly.
- Once it has baked, turn your oven off and open the door slightly. Leave the cheesecake in there for 1 hour.
- After an hour, take the cheesecake out of the oven. Let this cool down completely, then place it into your fridge. Leave it in there to set overnight.
- The next day:
- Now that the cheesecake has set, take it out of the tin, and then it is done. You can decorate if it you want, or leave it the way it is. I just piped some whipped cream on top and added mini cookies.
- Cut into it and enjoy!
