Chocolate Chip cookie dough cheesecakes

I like cheesecake.

When I was growing up we lived within a 5 minute walk of a cheesecake shop. They had a baked cheesecake with a kinda jellied blueberry top that was sooooo delicious.

They didn't have a chocolate chip cookie dough baked cheesecake though, not that I remember, and I'm pretty sure I would as it may have given my favorite blueberry a run for it's money.

Anyway I've been playing around a bit with my basic mini cheesecake recipe. In case you have missed my previous posts I have already shared a Rocky Road, a Chocolate Rocky Road and decadent Dulce de leche versions.

and now I'm ready to share these Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Baked Cheesecakes.

Yup read the words Oreo, Cookie Dough and Cheesecake.


I'm one of those people that doesn't lick the bowl of cake batter and cookie dough because I know it has raw egg in it.

So for many years I have had a recipe for eggless cookie dough - which is pretty much take your favorite cookie recipe substituting around 1 Tbsp of milk for each egg.  You can add it to icecream, make cookie dough cake pops with it, eat it straight out of the bowl......or add it to cheesecake.

Pretty sweet huh!

The amount of cookie dough I have provided in the recipe will yield enough to top the batch of cheesecakes with cookie dough. Which I feel is kinda enough cookie dough.

But if you really really like cookie dough you might like to add a layer over the Oreo Cookie (like in the above pictures). If your one of the super cookie dough lovers just double up the batch of raw cookie dough, and then increase the number of muffin cases and Oreo Cookies as the Mini Cheesecake yield will increase to around 20 -24.


Y'all can make them however you like. I'm not gonna judge you. How much cookie dough you like is between you and your cheesecake.

Cheesecakes can be served as they are or with a warm chocolate ganache. The chocolate in the picture is actually a fudgy chocolate sauce I made up but sorry to say I lost my recipe notes for it before I typed them up so it's not included with the recipe below.

Don't worry though I am making the ultimate sacrifice and retesting until I get it perfect again and this time I won't lose those notes.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Mini Baked Cheesecakes
makes 14 large Texas muffin sized cheesecakes

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
This batch makes enough to top the cheesecakes. If you would like a layer on the bottom of the cheesecake as well double the ingredients in this recipe.

1 cup plain (All purpose) flour
75 grams (3oz) unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp (2 US Tbsp) Milk
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Sift the flour and set aside.

In a large bowl of an electric mixer at high speed cream (mix together) the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to medium low, add the milk and vanilla and mix until combined. Then reduce speed to low and mix in the flour until completely combined. Add the chocolate chips and mix in by hand.

For the purpose of the cheesecakes make break small pieces off the dough and roll into balls. (My kids love to help with this step)

Cheesecakes

14 Oreo Cookies (or up to 24 if you are making the version with cookie dough layer on the bottom as well)
625g (21oz) cream cheese at room temperature
1 tin condensed milk
3 large eggs at room temperature
14 large muffin papers (I bought these ones from woolies)
Cookie dough (see recipe above)

Preheat oven to 140C (280 F)

Line the muffin tins with the muffin/cupcake papers. Place one single oreo in the bottom of each paper.

If you have decided to go all out and have the extra layer of cookie dough - press down into the case an amount of cookie dough about equal to the size of the Oreo cookie at this stage. (remember you will have to have doubled your cookie dough yield to do this and you will also need to reduce the amount of cheesecake mixture you add to the cases it will be a scant 1/4 cup)

Beat the cream cheese using a mixer at medium speed until just smooth, add the condensed milk and mix until combined. Reduce speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until just combined.


Spoon the mixture into the large muffin papers dividing mixture evenly between the papers. If you are using large ones like I did you can add a scant 1/3 cup to each and make 14, if you only have smaller cupcake cases do not overfill the cases as the mixture will rise a little during baking, make them just over 3/4 full and you will probably get around 20 cakes.

Bake for 10 mins. Remove from oven and working quickly add the balls of chocolate chip cookie dough to the top of the cheesecakes. You do not need to push them down just throw them on top of the cheesecakes.

Return to the oven and bake a further 15 minutes.

They will be cooked when the cookie mixture starts to set but before it turns golden. Although if you prefer a crunch you can leave it a couple of extra minutes until the dough starts to turn golden.

Allow to cool in the trays for 10-15min and then pop in an airtight container in the fridge until chilled.

and here is the link to my book Sweets on a Stick it is a US Release however there is a conversion chart in the back to the book for metric.It's available from bookstores in the US and here online at:

Or here at fishpond (Aus/NZ)

Caramel mini cheesecake and dulce de leche instructions

When I was young we used to cook up condensed milk and eat it out of the tin.

I loved how with just heat regular condensed milk would change consistency and turn golden, sticky and yummy, I didn't realise what we were doing was making Dulce de leche. I would have felt so worldly if only I had of known.

Dulce de leche is a fancy way of saying condensed milk cooked up in it's tin in a big pot of simmering water for a few hours. It turns into that rich flowing delicious looking caramel you see on the top of these cheesecakes. You don't need to add anything, it just......is.

Really it is super easy but if your not into the whole cooking for 4 hours thing you can buy dulce de leche already made up at some good deli's or grocery stores. I noticed that Amazon has a stack and it seems that Nestle in some countries do all the hard work for you - nice!

I know - YUM

In Australia you can buy Top and Fill caramel and use in place of the home made dulce de leche which is perfectly acceptable (although I prefer the taste of the home made dulce de dulce, but y'all know I generally say use what makes YOU happy).

When I make up tins of dulce de leche I either make it up after the kids go to sleep or when they are at nana's house as I am a bit uptight about boiling water and if they are in the house I have to hover near the stove the whole time. (Yes Mr Sweet calls me a helicopter mum and sometimes even makes those annoying helicopter sounds to me - yeah I know really !)

Dulce de leche or Caramel baked Cheesecake
You will need 2 tins of dulce de leche - one for the cheesecake recipe and one to spoon over the top. You will not use all the second tin so you could either freeze it to use another time or heat it up and spoon it over icecream, or cake, or pretty much anything :) 

Dulce de leche (you can keep in an airtight container in the fridge up to 1 week)

Tins of condensed milk with 2 holes pierced in the top (you will need 2 tins for this recipe)

Place tins of condensed milk into a large deep saucepan with water surrounding them. The water should come up to he top of the condensed milk tins but not lap over the rim (otherwise you will get water into the holes). Bring the water to simmer and cook the tins for 4 hours. Keep adding water to the saucepan so the water remains level with the tops of the tins (you know just ever now and then don't get too uptight about it).

After 4 hours turn off the heat, allow to cool and then remove the tins from the saucepan. Take off the top of the tin and scoop out all the caramel/ dulce de leche.

Cheesecake - makes 14 largish mini cupcakes
14 Oreo cookies
625g (21oz) cream cheese at room temperature
1 tin condensed milk made into dulce de leche (see above instructions)
3 eggs at room temperature
14 large muffin papers (I bought these ones from woolies)
Packet of soft caramels for decoration (optional) I used Jersey caramels

Preheat oven to 140C (280 F)

Line the muffin tins with the muffin/cupcake papers. Place one single oreo in the bottom of each paper.

Beat the cream cheese using a mixer at medium speed until just smooth, add the dulce de leche.

Mix until well combined. Reduce speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until just combined.

Spoon the mixture into the large muffin papers dividing mixture evenly between the papers. If you are using large ones like I did the mixture should make 14, if you only have smaller cupcake cases do not overfill the cases as the mixture will rise a little during baking, make them around 3/4 full.

Bake until the mixture is just setting in the center, around 16- 20 mins for the larger size muffin cupcake, check after 14mins if you are making smaller sized cakes.

They will be cooked when the middle of the top of the cheesecake is no longer wet and looks just set.

Allow to cool in the trays for 10-15min and then pop in an airtight container in the fridge until chilled.

Serve topped with extra dulce de leche and caramels.

If you would like to make the dulce de leche more fluid for serving like it appears in the pictures heat it up on short bursts at high in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl and mix with a spoon until smooth.

Cheesecakes will keep in airtight container up to 3 days in fridge.

and here is the link to my book Sweets on a Stick and there actually is a cheesecake pop recipe in the book, which is super delicious if I do say so myself.....and I promise if I ever work out how to pop a link in the sidebar I will stop popping these in every post :) I know I have said it before but it is a US Release however there is a conversion chart in the back to the book for metric.

Or here at fishpond (Aus/NZ)

Also featured in....

It's a Rocky Road to Chocolate Nirvana Cheesecake cupcakes

After the success of my rock your socks off rocky road cheesecake the other day I decided to go all out and make them even more decedant.

So I added more chocolate to make the actual cheesecakes chocolate. Now they have the chocolatey Oreo base, a creamy chocolate cheesecake and the super yummy chocolate rocky road surprise inside and sprinkled on top.

Remember when your cooking to use a good quality chocolate that you would be happy to eat, cause you know, your gonna be eating it. The taste of the chocolate I used really came through in the finished cheesecake.

As I mentioned the last time you can buy your Rocky Road already made up from a shop or make up your own. I have included a recipe below but if you don't like turkish delight just chop up your favorite candy bar and add it instead.

The recipe is pretty much the same as the one I posted the other day with just the extra chocolate added in - I know - but it really was THAT good that I had to share it in it's entirety. Well I thought so anyway. Plus I took some new photo's as well.

Rocky Road to Chocolate Nirvana Cheesecake

Rocky Road (keep in an airtight container up to 2 weeks)

300g (10oz) milk chocolate melted (I melt mine in the microwave at med-low heat bursts of 60-90 seconds, do not be tempted to heat higher or the chocolate may burn)
150g (5oz) marshmallow (I use pascals brand and chopped into quarters with scissors)
1/3 cup shredded coconut
2 bars Turkish Delight (55g each) or favorite chocolate bar chopped into small pieces (3.5 to 4oz)
1/3 cup nuts (optional)

Mix all ingredients together and spoon onto a tray covered with parchment paper or tin foil. Press down until a couple of cm (or 3/4inch) high and leave to set. Once set cut into small pieces.

Cheesecake - makes 14 large mini cupcakes or around 20 - 24 regular cupcakes
14 Oreo cookies (or up to 24 if making smaller cupcake size cheesecakes)
625g (21oz) cream cheese at room temperature
1 tin condensed milk
3 eggs at room temperature
200g (7oz) dark chocolate melted and cooled
14 large muffin papers (I bought these ones from woolies in the baking section they come in a brown box)

Preheat oven to 140C.

Line the muffin tins with the muffin/cupcake papers. Place one single oreo in the bottom of each paper. Put a piece of rocky road into each paper on top of the Oreo cookie.

Beat the cream cheese using a mixer at medium speed until just smooth, add the condensed milk and mix until well combined. Reduce speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until just combined.

Add the cooled dark chocolate and continue to mix at low speed until combined.

Spoon the mixture into the muffin papers dividing mixture evenly between the papers. If you are using large ones like I did the mixture should make 12, if you only have smaller cupcake cases do not overfill the cases as the mixture will rise a little during baking, make them around 3/4 full.

Bake until the mixture is just setting in the center, around 16- 20 mins for the larger size muffin cupcake, check after 14mins if you are making smaller sized cakes.

Allow to cool in the trays for 10-15min and then pop in an airtight container in the fridge until chilled.

Serve topped with extra Rocky Road.

Keep in airtight container up to 3 days in fridge.

Oh and if you like cheesecake like I like cheesecake, I have a recipe for cheese-cake pops in my book which is due for release in just over a month. Yum!

Rock your socks off - Rocky Road and Oreo Mini Cheesecakes

I was feeling a bit peckish the other day. I had decorated cookies sitting around but just didn't feel like something that sweet.

I knew in a few days I'd be baking up batches of macarons and cake pops for the local school fete so I didn't really want to go there.

I wanted something creamy, chocolatey, with a little bit of crunch and a lot of flavor, so I created these easy cheesecakes with Oreo's as the base and Rocky Road for a bit of a flavour hit.

I made them cupcakes sized, cause it feels so wrong to make a whole cheesecake to eat yourself, but if your just having a couple of cupcakes a day that's ok.

Well that's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

Yup this was my lunch, apparently from my research (on Facebook) that's  perfectly acceptable

You can buy your Rocky Road already made up from a shop but I've included the recipe I use cause it's pretty easy and then I can make it like I want. Remember it's rocky road not rocket science. Pretty much just mix in what you want to the chocolate, as long as you kinda stick to the same amounts it should work. I left out the nuts so the kids could eat it easily.

Apparently if your in the US chances are you don't like turkish delight (rose)- Is that for real? My editor made me take anything Turkish Delight out of my book. Anyway just replace it with any type of candy bar you like chopped up and it should taste just as delicious. Like I said not rocket science.

Rock your socks off Cheesecake

Rocky Road (keep in an airtight container up to 2 weeks)

300g (10oz) milk chocolate melted (I melt mine in the microwave at med-low heat bursts of 60-90 seconds, do not be tempted to heat higher or the chocolate may burn)
150g (5oz) marshmallow (I use pascals brand and chopped into quarters with scissors)
1/3 cup shredded coconut
2 bars Turkish Delight (55g each) or favorite chocolate bar chopped into small pieces (3.5 to 4oz)
1/3 cup nuts (optional)

Mix all ingredients together and spoon onto a tray covered with parchment paper or tin foil. Press down until a couple of cm (or 3/4inch) high and leave to set. Once set cut into small pieces.

Cheesecake - makes 12 large mini cupcakes or around 20 - 24 regular cupcakes
12 Oreo cookies (or up to 24 if making smaller cupcake size cheesecakes)
625g (21oz) cream cheese at room temperature
1 tin condensed milk
3 eggs at room temperature
12 large muffin papers (I bought these ones from woolies)

Preheat oven to 140C.

Line the muffin tins with the muffin/cupcake papers. Place one single oreo in the bottom of each paper. Put a piece of rocky road into each paper on top of the Oreo cookie.

Beat the cream cheese using a mixer at medium speed until just smooth, add the condensed milk and mix until well combined. Reduce speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until just combined.

Spoon the mixture into the muffin papers dividing mixture evenly between the papers. If you are using large ones like I did the mixture should make 12, if you only have smaller cupcake cases do not overfill the cases as the mixture will rise a little during baking, make them around 3/4 full.

Bake until the mixture is just setting in the center, around 16- 20 mins for the larger size muffin cupcake, check after 14mins if you are making smaller sized cakes.

Allow to cool in the trays for 10-15min and then pop in an airtight container in the fridge until chilled.

Serve topped with extra Rocky Road.

Keep in airtight container up to 3 days in fridge.

Here is the link to my book on Amazon, I saw on the publishers site it's due to ship out from there on the 30th of November so it's like only just over a month until it's released. Yay!

Salted Caramel Cheesecakes

Here is the recipe for that salted caramel cheesecake that I didn't end up using for the daring bakers challenge.

So delicious, and if you don't like salted caramel you could make the cheesecakes and top it with something else........Ha. Right, as if.



Well anyway you could, just a simple raspberry puree, or mango even just a dollop of cream. The actual cheesecake is very easy to make.

I made a mini dessert table type version as well which was kind of cute, but you will need to adjust the baking times down.


The pics have a base of hazelnut pasta frolla but I recommend just leaving it our altogether.


Salted Caramel Cheesecakes makes 8 single serves

Cheesecakes
228 gram (8 ounce) cream cheese at room temp
1/2 cup caster sugar
3 large eggs at room temp
1/2 cup sour cream
8 small ramekins or glass jars (I used Ikea tea lights)

Preheat oven to 160 C (325F). Have a large deep baking tray ready (for water bath).

Mix cream cheese and sugar at medium speed with electric mixer until creamy and free of lumps approx 1 min. Add eggs one at a time ensuring each addition is mixed. Beat in sour cream. Scrap down sides throughout process and do not overmix and incorporate too much air.

Strain into a pouring jug and then fill the ramekins/jars with cheesecake mixture.

Place ramekins/jars into the baking pan and fill pan with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the jars. Bake for 16 mins and turn off oven leaving cheecakes in the warm oven for 2 hours.


Remove from waterbath and refrigerate until cold and firm, at least 2 hours.

 Salted Caramel Topping (recipe makes a lot of caramel you will have around a cup left over to use for other delicious purposes)

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup light corn syrup (use liquid glucose if not available)

2/3 cup caster sugar (superfine)

80 grams unsalted butter (4 US tbsp)

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cups cream

Combine water, corn syrup and sugar in large heavy based saucepan. Cook over medium low heat stirring constantly, brushing down sides with water when necessary until sugar is dissolved. Turn heat to med-high and continue to cook without stirring for 5-7 mins or until syrup turns golden amber, swirling the pan if necessary to distribute the caramel. 

Remove from heat and stir in butter and salt.

Slowly pour in the cream being careful as mixture will bubble and whisk in well. Strain through sieve into heatproof bowl. Cool for at least 20 mins.

Spoon a thin layer of warm caramel onto each cheesecake and chill until cold.

Baked Cheesecake with Salted Caramel, Jam Tart and the Daring Bakers Challenge November 2010

 

The 2010 November Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Simona of briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

Mmmmmm this salted caramel topped cheesecake was super duper delicious

I just wasn't feeling the pie or tart love and went with a cheesecake instead, I though I could get away with using the pasta frolla (pastry) as a base, and it worked but it just felt wrong.


The cheesecake I baked with salted caramel was so delicious it completely overwhelmed the pastry and I felt I was doing the challenge a disservice.


So I went as plain as I could and made a jam tart, using the same pastry base. It was simple, it was sweet and it worked nicely. Not what I would usually bake but that's what the Daring Bakers is about.

recipe after jump

Black bottom oreo cupcakes a variation on a delicious favourite

What is it about adding an oreo cookie to the bottom of a cupcake that makes such a difference. I don't even really care for them on their own. Oreo's that is, their Ok but gimme a home baked cookie any time instead and I'm much happier.

But on the bottom of a cupcake, especially a cheesecake type cupcake and it's a different story.

Oreo + Cupcake =  Delicious

This Black Bottom Cupcake is adapted from the More from Magnolia cookbook. It's a chocolate base topped with cheesecake studded with chocolate chips.

Cookies and Cream cheesecakes from Martha Stewart Cupcakes

I promised to share my triumphs and disasters here and although not quite a disaster this one has been a bit of a lesson in paying better attention to the recipe.

Ok first mistake, not writing a shopping list resulting in me buying cream instead of sour cream. Come on, the recipe is for cookies and cream it's an easy mistake to make. I decided to risk using the cream rather than return to the shop and the result was good, although I think that the original sour cream recipe would be less sweet and have a firmer texture.

Mistake number 2. Fill the cakes almost to the top the recipe states. I make a lot of cupcakes. Cupcakes need room to rise so you only fill them about 1/2 to 3/4 full. I got a bit confused.

Cheesecake cupcake reality - they do not rise - so listen to the recipe and fill them nearly to the top.

So what was the verdict with these cheesecake cupcakes...........

Yum - and yum again. Would make them again for sure making sure next time I followed the recipe a little better.

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcake cake book

Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes
makes 30

Ingredients
42 cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies such as Oreos or Delta Cream. 30 whole and 12 coarsely chopped.
910 g (2 pounds) cream cheese room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs room temperature lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
pinch salt

1. Preheat oven to C (275 F). Line standard muffin tins with cupcake papers. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each liner.

2. With an electric mixer on medium high beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.
3. Add eggs one at a time, beating to combine and scraping down sides of bowl after each addition. Beat in sour cream and salt. Fold in chopped cookies by hand gently.

4. Divide batter evenly among cookie-filled cups filling each almost to the top. Bake until filling is set, approx 22 mins. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate in tins at least 4 hours (or overnight). Remove from tins just before serving.