These chocolate chip cheesecake bars have a crunchy cookie crust layered with creamy cheesecake, chunks of chocolate chip cookie dough, and generous drizzles of melted chocolate. They’re gooey, chewy, buttery, and way easier to make than a classic cheesecake!
If you love chocolate chip cookie dough and classic cheesecake, you’ll love combining both into one easy dessert bar recipe! Also, try my cookie dough brownies.
Two desserts are colliding in the best possible way with today’s EASY chocolate chip cheesecake bars. These have rich, creamy cheesecake filling topped with a barely-baked chocolate chip cookie layer and melted chocolate, sliced into squares. I’ve even added gooey chocolate chips to the crunchy graham cracker crust!
Reasons to Swoon Over These Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars
- Cheesecake and cookie dough! Enough said? The only thing better than a slice of rich and tangy homemade cheesecake is cheesecake loaded with buttery cookie dough.
- No water bath. Recipes like my sugar cookie cheesecake bars are much easier to prepare than a traditional cheesecake. With bars, there’s no water bath or springform pan needed.
- Chocolate in every bite. These chocolate chip cheesecake bars have melty chocolate in the crust, cookie dough, and drizzled on top.
Gather These Ingredients
With the holidays coming up, I almost guarantee these cheesecake bars with cookie dough will vanish from the dessert table in minutes. Here’s a quick look at the key ingredients. Scroll to the recipe card for the full, printable recipe details.
- Graham Crackers – To crush and combine with butter for the cheesecake crust.
- Butter – Melted for the crust and brought to room temperature to make the cookie dough. I always bake with salted butter, but unsalted will work, too.
- Sugar – I make my chocolate chip cookie dough with both brown and white granulated sugar. Brown sugar adds moisture.
- Chocolate Chips – I include chocolate chips in the crust, chocolate chip cookie dough, and in the melted chocolate topping. I like to use semisweet chocolate, but you can use dark chocolate or any kind you prefer.
- Vanilla and Salt – Our classic flavor enhancers. Use a high-quality pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste for the best flavor.
- Flour – Make sure to measure your flour correctly using a digital kitchen scale or the spoon and level method to avoid dry, crumbly cookie dough. Spoon the flour from the bag into the measuring cup, and never scoop, which can lead to overmeasuring.
- Cream Cheese – Use full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature. You’ll combine the cream cheese with sugar, an egg, and vanilla to make the cheesecake filling.
Can I Soften Cream Cheese Quickly?
Yes. To quickly soften cream cheese, fill a heat-proof ceramic or glass bowl with very hot water. Allow it to sit for a few minutes, dump out the water, and place the warm bowl over top of the cream cheese. Wait 10 minutes, and your cream cheese should soften right up. This technique also works for bringing butter quickly to room temperature!
The Perfect Graham Cracker Crust for Cheesecake
I use my homemade graham cracker pie crust in so many dessert recipes, from no-bake cheesecake to brownie pie. For these chocolate chip cheesecake bars, you’ll prepare and par-bake the crust so it holds up to the creamy filling:
- To make it, simply combine graham cracker crumbs (from store-bought or homemade graham crackers) with melted butter. In this recipe, I fold mini chocolate chips into the crust.
- Press the crust mixture into the bottom and partially up the sides of a lined and greased 9×9-inch square pan.
- Par-bake the crust at 325ºF for 6 minutes.
You can also make the cheesecake crust with another type of cookie. Substitute graham cracker crumbs with crushed Chips Ahoy cookies, Nilla wafers, or even an Oreo crust like I use for my chocolate cheesecake.
With your crust set aside to cool, mix up your chocolate chip cookie dough and pull together your cheesecake batter:
- Make the cookie dough. In a bowl, cream butter with both sugars, salt, and vanilla. Slowly add the flour, and fold in the chocolate chips.
- Mix the cheesecake filling. Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese with sugar for the cheesecake. Add the egg, then vanilla, and mix until the batter is creamy.
- Assemble. Spread the cheesecake batter into your baked and cooled crust. Using a teaspoon or extra-small cookie scoop, drop marble-sized balls of cookie dough on top of the batter.
- Bake. Bake the cheesecake bars at 325ºF for 30 minutes, until they’re just set in the center.
- Melt the chocolate for the topping. Lastly, heat the chocolate chips with butter in the microwave, stirring in between increments until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Drizzle the chocolate over the chocolate chip cheesecake bars, and cool completely before slicing.
Do I Need to Heat-Treat the Flour?
Not for this recipe. In my original edible cookie dough recipe and no-bake cookie dough cheesecake, which are unbaked, I recommend heat-treating the raw flour in the oven or microwave to kill any harmful bacteria. Since we’re baking the cookie dough inside these cheesecake bars, heat-treating the raw flour isn’t necessary in this recipe.
Tips for the Best Bars
- Cool before slicing. After adding the melted chocolate topping, allow the cheesecake bars to cool completely to room temperature. You can speed up the process by placing the bars in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Line the pan. Line the square pan with parchment paper, leaving a little bit of an overhang. This makes it easy to lift the baked bars right out of the pan when they’re cooled.
- Wipe the knife clean between cuts. For neat, tidy cheesecake slices, run the knife under warm water and wipe the blade clean in between cuts.
Make-Ahead and Storage
- Store the baked bars. Store these chocolate chip cheesecake bars covered in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freeze. You can freeze your cheesecake bars for up to 2 months. Wrap the bars in plastic wrap, then in a layer of foil before freezing. Thaw them out in the fridge when it’s time to serve.
- Make the cookie dough ahead. You can prepare and freeze chocolate chip cookie dough in advance. Scoop the dough into teaspoon-sized balls and pre-freeze them on a baking sheet before transferring them to a container. Thaw the cookie dough in the fridge before you add it to the cheesecake bars.
More Cheesecake Bars Recipes
Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 36 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 6 minutes
- Yield: 16 servings 1x
- Category: Cheesecake
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These chocolate chip cheesecake bars layer buttery cookie dough with creamy cheesecake and melted chocolate in a chewy cookie crust. They’re easier to make than regular cheesecake and perfect for parties!
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 5 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Cookie Dough:
- 5 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Cheesecake Filling:
- 10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping:
- 1/3 cup semi-sweet chips
- 1/2 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Crust: Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a 9×9 square baking pan with parchment paper. Coat the paper with nonstick spray and set aside.
- Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter until crumbs are moistened. Stir in chocolate chips.
- Press crust mixture into bottom of pan and 1 inch up sides. Bake for 6 minutes. Set pan on wire rack to cool.
- Cookie Dough: Using mixer, mix butter, brown sugar, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract at medium speed until smooth. Adjust mixer speed to low and add flour. Mix just until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips. Set aside.
- Cheesecake: Using mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add egg and vanilla extract, beating just until blended.
- Pour batter into cooled, baked crust. Drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls over the top of the filling.
- Bake about 30 minutes, or until set. Transfer to wire rack.
- Topping: Melt 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips in the microwave. Add about 1/2 tablespoon of butter to make chocolate smooth.
- Using a ziplock bag with corner cut off, drizzle chocolate on bars.
- Cool bars in pan completely, about an hour. Or refrigerate, 1/2 hour.
- Using the edges of the parchment paper, lift the bars from the pan.
- Cut into bars and serve.
oh my …. what can anyone one say but… more please… ;o)
These look absolutely amazing! I'm afraid I'd eat them all…
You rock my world! You are a women after my own heart love the blog and the recipes. This sound even better than my favourite cookie dough cheesecake blizzard! I truly <3 you!
ummm, wow. this looks life-changing. i'm a salivating.
This recipe had me and everyone else within my entire apartment complex wanting more. Perfect recipe! My boyfriend was legitimately UPSET when it was all gone!
I must try this. Wow!!
I'm drooling! These look so good!