These Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars are made entirely from scratch - a thick, creamy layer of cheesecake baked over a homemade chocolate chip cookie crust. No store-bought dough, no swirling batter - just pure, cool cheesecake over dense and doughy chocolate chip cookie for a handheld treat.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars - at a Glance
- ⏱ Prep Time: 25 minutes
- 🔥 Cook Time: 35 minutes
- ❄️ Chilling Time: 2 hours
- ⌛ Total Time: 3 hours
- 👪 Serves: 24
- 🍽️ Calories: 360
- 🌾 Main Ingredients: Flour, sugar, brown sugar, butter, eggs, cream cheese, chocolate chips
- 👌 Why You'll Love It: Thick, creamy cheesecake over a soft chocolate chip cookie crust - two classic desserts in one bar.
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I created this recipe for my sister's birthday. She loves cheesecake and so I often make Brownie Cheesecake; however, in 2022 she wanted something different - a cookie cake with cream cheese frosting. Since I'm not a frosting person, I improvised with cheesecake bars over a chocolate chip cookie crust - the perfect mash-up.
I made a batch almost every week afterward and didn't tire of them. They hold up as a crowd-pleaser - when I brought them to a Labor Day party, they disappeared in no time.
If you like these, check out my Chocolate Chip Cookie Scones for breakfast, and my thick and gooey Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars.
Why You'll Love These Bars
I adore these Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars. Here's what makes them worth baking.
- 🥄 No store-bought cookie dough.
- 🍫 A classic cheesecake bar with a homemade chocolate chip cookie dough for the crust instead of the usual graham cracker - thick, creamy cheesecake on top, soft cookie on bottom. No marbling, no swirling.
- ☁️ More cheesecake filling than most - this cheesecake is serious, not an afterthought.
- 🍪 The chocolate chip cookie crust bakes up soft, almost like cookie dough, rather than crisp.
- 🥣 One bowl, start to finish - no need to wash the bowl or beaters between layers.
Key Ingredients
Butter: Use unsalted; if using salted, omit the salt in the dough. Butter should be at room temperature for proper creaming.
Brown sugar: Provides flavor and chew to chocolate chip cookies. Light and dark both work.
Chocolate chips: Both store and name brand work - choose something you like the taste of. Miniature chocolate chips are optional; I prefer their texture over that of larger ones for topping the cheesecake.
Cream cheese: Use full-fat for best results. Cream cheese must be at room temperature, or the cheesecake will be lumpy. If you love cream cheese, my from-scratch Earthquake Cake places it front and center, folding cream cheese icing into the cake while it bakes.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars
Use an electric mixer - no need to wash between layers.
Make Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
One: Cream softened butter with the granulated and brown sugars, around 1-3 minutes.
Two: Add egg and vanilla, and mix until combined, around another minute.
Three: Add flour, baking soda, and salt, and mix on low until just combined, scraping up the bottom.
Four: Stir in chocolate chips, switching to a spatula if using a hand mixer.
Five: Scrape the cookie dough into a parchment-lined or greased 9x13-inch pan. Pat dough about 1 inch up the sides of the pan.
Six: Bake for 5 minutes while making the filling. The edges will slump down, and this is okay. Let it rest at room temperature until the filling is ready.
Make Cheesecake Batter
Reuse your bowl and beaters to make the cheesecake batter. Scrape as much cookie dough from the beaters and bowl as you can when you put the cookie layer in the pan, but a little bit in the cheesecake won't hurt anything.
Seven: Beat softened cream cheese, sugar, and salt together on high for 5 minutes, until smooth and creamy.
Eight: Add the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. The batter will thin out with this step.
Nine: Pour the batter over the warm cookie layer and spread out to the edges of the pan, covering the cookie layer entirely. Sprinkle with miniature chocolate chips if desired.
Ten: Bake until the top looks dry and mostly set, but the center still wiggles slightly when you shake the pan - it should not be sloshy.
Remove the cheesecake bars from the oven and cool at room temperature for 1-2 hours. Once you can handle the pan, chill them in the refrigerator before cutting.
Serving and Storage
Chill the bars completely before cutting and serving - they're simply not as good warm.
You can cut the bars directly in the pan, or if you've lined it with parchment, carefully lift the whole slab out. I prefer using a bench scraper to cut evenly through the bars. The crust will be firm but will not be hard to eat.
These would be fantastic in a dessert spread alongside other creamy treats like my Cheesecake Brownies, which also have a double-thick cheesecake layer, or rich Fudgy Butterscotch Bars. Or, pair it with Lemon Bars with a Shortbread Crust for a bright citrusy contrast.
Store cheesecake bars covered in the fridge - cheesecake picks up off flavors if exposed to air. The bars will keep for up to 5 days.
Tips for Creamy Cheesecake Bars
☁️ Fully soften and beat the cream cheese, or the cheesecake layer will be lumpy. Pull it from the fridge at least 1 hour before you begin, possibly longer.
🥚 Add eggs one-by-one on low speed. Overbeating air into the eggs can cause the cheesecake to crack. The same technique applies to my Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake to keep the filling nice and silky.
👉 Parbaking the crust helps the cheesecake layer set. The cheesecake will be much softer set, almost runny, if you don't parbake.
🔥 If your oven runs hot, check for doneness 5 minutes early. The time my oven ran 10 degrees hot, the crust climbed to form an edge crust, and the cheesecake came close to overbaking at the minimum bake time.
🤍 Pull the bars when the center still wiggles slightly. They continue to set as they cool, and overbaking can cause cracking.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bar FAQs
When cheesecake bars are done, the center will wiggle slightly, and look dry and set on top. It will not be too jiggly, and the middle should not look like liquid sloshing under the surface. Cheesecake bars that are done will also be a little brown along the edges.
Two things crack cheesecake: overmixing and overbaking.
Beat your cream cheese thoroughly before adding eggs to be sure that it's light, loose, and aerated. When you add eggs, though, you want to mix on low so you don't beat much air into them. Air beaten into the eggs can expand, create bubbles, and crack.
If your oven runs hot, check the chocolate chip cookie cheesecake bars early for doneness.
I make a ganache to hide flaws on cheesecake. Melt together ¾ cup chocolate chips and 4 ½ tablespoons of heavy cream, using the instructions for my Brownie Cheesecake recipe. Spread it over the entire surface of the bars. If you don't want ganache, cut the chocolate chip cookie cheesecake bars into pieces along the cracks.
The edge crust bakes up harder and crunchier, which makes cutting more difficult. Although the edges soften after a few days, I want to eat them before that. They're also prettier without it. If you want the edge crust, form the edge, skip the parbake, and bake the bars a few minutes longer since the filling will be deeper.
More Chocolatey Bar Cookies Worth Making
I hope this becomes a recipe you'll return to. If you try it, a star rating below helps others find it - and I'd love to hear how yours turns out in the comments! 💕 Questions or trouble? Drop a note, and I'll do my best to help.
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars
Equipment
- electric mixer
- 9x13 inch pan
- parchment paper optional
Ingredients
Chocolate Chip Cookie Layer
- 16 tablespoons butter (227 grams) (softened)
- ¾ cup brown sugar (150 grams)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 ¼ cup flour (275 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (1 bag)
Cheesecake Filling
- 16 ounces cream cheese (2 bricks; softened)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ½ cup miniature chocolate chips (3 ounces, for topping; optional)
Instructions
Chocolate Chip Cookie Layer
- With a stand mixer or hand mixer (affiliate link), beat the butter with the sugars on medium speed until creamy, about 1-3 minutes.
- Add the egg and vanilla, and beat for another minute.
- Stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low until the dough just comes together.
- Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Stir in the chocolate chips on low speed.
- Turn the cookie dough into a greased or parchment-lined 9x13 inch pan. Press the dough along the bottom and about ¾-1 inch up the sides.
- Bake at 350F for 5 minutes while you start the cheesecake filling. The crust will not be set, and the edges will begin to slump down.
Cheesecake Filling
- Scrape as much cookie dough from the mixing bowl and paddle attachment as you can, but no need to wash it.
- Using the same bowl and paddle, beat the cream cheese with the sugar and salt for about 5 minutes, until smooth and creamy. Stop a couple of times to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add the eggs one by one, beating for a minute after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
- Pour the cheesecake filling over the warm cookie dough. Being careful not to disturb the crust (which will not be set), spread the batter out over the crust edges, all the way to the sides of the pan. (The cookie dough edges will have slumped down, and that's ok.)
- If desired, sprinkle with ½ cup miniature chocolate chips.
- Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes. The cheesecake top will be set and look dry. The cheesecake will wiggle a little when moved, but will not be sloshy or jiggly underneath.
- Cool at room temperature for at least an hour, then chill for at least 2 hours before cutting and serving.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and serve cold. Cheesecake will pick up off flavors if not covered. Eat within 5 days.
Leona Konkel says
I love these cheesecake bars. The only thing that keeps me from making them on a whim is not having cream cheese in my refrigerator. I hope you also love this creamy cheesecake-cookie mashup. Let me know how they turn out when you try them!