Mini chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecakes are the dessert lover’s dream! The cheesecake layer has mini chocolate chips folded in, baked on top of a chocolate chip cookie crust, then topped with homemade whipped cream and a cute little cookie! These bite sized desserts are great for parties and holidays, plus everyone loves them!
Why are desserts so much better when they are miniature? Not only are they cute, but these rich cookie dough cheesecakes are the perfect serving size and believe it or not are super simple to bake! We are using store-bought dough for the crust, but some like to go with a graham cracker crust or Oreo crust. Both are delicious and if you have time, make a batch of both! I also made chocolate chip cheesecake cookies that have similar flavors and are totally from scratch!
For those who can’t decide between a slice of creamy cheesecake and other desserts, we have combined the best of all worlds! If you like brownies and cheesecake, try these strawberry brownies or brownie bottom cheesecake. For fruit lovers, you can choose from recipes like lemon and no-bake blackberry cheesecake. We also have hand pies, parfaits, and deep fried bites.
- Simple to make, no fancy ingredients needed (and no springform pan required)!
- These take less time to set up compared to a full-size cheesecake.
- Making the crust from store-bought cookie dough cuts down on prep time.
What Ingredients do I Need for Mini Cookie Dough Cheesecakes?
- refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough – we used Nestle.
- cream cheese – allowing it time to soften makes the cheesecake layer smooth and creamy
- granulated sugar
- light brown sugar – pack when measuring so it’s accurate
- egg – set it out early, so it comes to room temperature before using
- sour cream – adds creaminess and balances out the sweeter ingredients
- vanilla extract
- mini chocolate chips – use your favorite variety of chocolate chips. We chose semi-sweet since this is already a rich dessert.
- heavy whipping cream
- powdered sugar
- Mini chips ahoy cookies
Before You Start: When it comes to baking (especially cheesecake recipes) it’s best to let all of the cold ingredients warm up before using them for the best results.
How to Make The Best and Easiest Cookie Dough Cheesecakes
PREP: Preheat the oven and line the muffin tins.
BAKE THE CRUST: Add a cookie dough cube to each liner and press in the bottom. Bake until they are lightly brown.
MAKING THE CHEESECAKE BATTER: Beat the cream cheese, sugars, sour cream, and vanilla in a large bowl using an electric mixer. Add the egg, then stir by hand. Fold in the chocolate chips. Use a scooper to add the cheesecake mixture to the cooled crusts. Bake for 18 minutes at 325 degrees.
CHILL: Let the cheesecakes cool for 30 minutes on the counter, then transfer them to the fridge for at least 2 hours to firm up.
SERVE: Beat the whipping cream and powdered sugar together until still peaks form. Pipe swirls on top, or use a small spatula to mound the whipped cream. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips and top with a cookie.
- The crust will puff up while baking and will look like it takes up the entire muffin tin, but once they cool they will settle. The same goes for the cheesecake layer.
- Because these are smaller, we do not need a water bath as you would use with a traditional cheesecake.
- Toppings like cookies, cookie crumbs, chips, and whipped cream are optional.
- There will be leftover cookies and chocolate chips.
- Parchment paper liners peel off better than paper liners.
- If you are going to make a double batch, place the cheesecakes on a wire rack to cool so you can use the same pan.
- To make these ahead of time, follow the instructions below for freezing.
Chocolate chip cookies were actually baked by accident when a baker was preparing cookies at the Toll House Inn and ran out of baking chocolate.
Once they have cooled completely, place them in the freezer, undecorated, in the muffin tin. After they have frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag. No need to thaw them, simply take them out before you decorate and they will be ready to serve.
Keep the leftovers in the refrigerator for 5-7 days undecorated or freeze them for up to 3 months.
Cookie Dough Cheesecakes
Ingredients
- 16 oz. package refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough 12 sections
- 8 oz. package cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup mini chocolate chips divided
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- Mini chips ahoy cookies
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Fill 12 muffin tins with parchment wrappers (these peel better than paper wrappers from this dessert).
- Press 1 section of the cookie dough into the bottom of each muffin cup.
- Bake for 12 minutes, until the cookie dough is lightly browned.
- Meanwhile, beat together the cream cheese, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and sour cream until smooth and fluffy.
- Add in the egg and mix by hand until combined.
- Fold in ½ cup of the mini chocolate chips.
- Divide the cheesecake mixture over the baked cookie “crusts” in each muffin tin.
- Turn the oven temperature down to 325°F. Bake an additional 18 minutes until the cheesecake is just set.
- Cool the cheesecakes on the countertop for 30 minutes and then transfer to the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours to become firm.
- Just before serving, whip heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar and continue whipping until stiff peaks form (but before the whipping cream turns to butter.)
- Pipe or mound the cookie dough cheesecakes with whipped cream. Crush a handful of the mini cookies and sprinkle over the cheesecakes. Sprinkle remaining mini chocolate chips over the cheesecakes and top each with a whole mini cookie.
Notes
Store leftovers in the refrigerator for 5-7 days or freeze (without the whipped cream topping) up to 3 months. Notes:
We used a Nestle cookie dough package with 12 large sections of dough. These will puff up while baking in the cookie cups and appear to take up almost the full cavity right when you take them out of the oven. Let them cool a few minutes and they will shrink/settle back down, allowing room in the muffin tin for the cheesecake filling. Likewise, the cheesecake filling will fill the muffin cups all the way to the top. They will puff a bit while baking. They will settled down into a flat or slightly concave top once they have cooled and chilled. Whipped cream and toppings are optional. If you would like to prepare these in advance and freeze them, go ahead and cook them down completely, then freeze right in the muffin tin. Once frozen, transfer to a gallon size Ziploc bag and store in the freezer until ready to use. No need to thaw – the cheesecakes will thaw rather quickly once removed from the freezer and should be ready to eat by the time you whip the cream and decorate. You will have leftover mini chocolate chips and mini chocolate chip cookies.
Nutrition
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