Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

Queue song, "If loving you is wrong, I don't want to be right..." Is this dessert healthy? No, however I am one who believes that it is totally ok to indulge yourself in something totally "wrong" on occasion (once or twice a month). I do typically eat dessert 3-4 times a week, but I save the heavy weights like this for very special occasions. What was the occasion? I wanted to indulge my sweet fix. Yep, I use the term "special occasion" very lightly when it comes to dessert!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars
Made about 20 bars
Source: The Healthy Foodie

CRUST

Ingredients

• 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs SS: I used a little over 1 graham cracker pie crust - just dump it in a bowl, and you have crumbs
• 5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 2/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Butter a 9″square baking pan. Line pan with parchment paper, leaving enough to extend over the sides. Butter the parchment paper.
2. Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter until crumbs are moistened. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Press crust mixture into bottom of pan and 1” up sides. Bake for 6 minutes. Set pan on wire rack to cool.

COOKIE DOUGH

Ingredients

• 5 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips SS: I found this to be A LOT of chocolate chips for me, next time, I'd use half of this amount

Directions

1. Using an electric mixer, mix butter, brown sugar, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract at medium speed until smooth.
2. Decrease mixer speed to low and add flour. Mix just until incorporated.
3. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Roll cookie dough into 21 little balls. Set aside.

FILLING

Ingredients

• 16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups Dulce de Leche (not to be mixed in) SS: I used a caramel sauce

Directions

1. Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar just until smooth. Add egg and vanilla extract, beating just until blended.
2. Spread Dulce de Leche onto baked crust then pour batter right on top.
3. Place your cookie dough balls over the top of the filling.
4. Bake about 30 minutes, or until set. Place on wire rack to cool. SS: While mine baked, some of the caramel sauce spilled on top - I didn't mind, but it's not as pretty.

The original recipe had an additional caramel and chocolate drizzle on top. That part of the dessert turned out to be an epic fail for me (who knew you couldn't melt chocolate in the microwave - it burned). However, I found that the dessert had enough deliciousness without the additional drizzle.