Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake - Gemma's Bigger Bolder Baking Ep 134

Hi Bold Bakers! Cheesecakes come in all different shapes and sizes, however, this Big & Bold Cheesecake is like no other. It has a giant cookie on the bottom, cream cheesy filling, and gorgeous tiny little cookie sprinkles on top. So let's get started. So the beauty of this cheesecake is that every part is cookie. Every single layer. Now we're going to start out with the base, as you normally do, with our cookie layer. But unlike traditional cheesecakes, where you kind of break up cookies like Oreos or graham crackers, we are going to make one big, giant cookie for the base of this cheesecake. It's going to be delicious. So you can use store-bought cookie dough if you want to, however, I've got a really easy recipe on my website, BiggerBolderBaking.com, for one of the best chocolate chip cookie doughs you will ever taste. So I recommend you use that. Here it is for me. And all you want to do is just take your room temperature cookie dough, and then just push it into the base of your cheesecake tin. The cheesecake tin that I'm using is 9 inches, and I'm going to put a link on my website of where you can buy one. A cheesecake tin is so important to have in your kitchen. And that's it. That's the base for our cheesecake. Really, really easy. No food processor needed. Now what you want to do is pop it onto a tray, and bake it off in the oven until it's golden brown. My kitchen smells like chocolate chip cookies, and my timer just went off, so I'm pretty sure our base is done. So for my chocolate chip cookies, they're always best when you underbake them, so you get a lovely gooey middle. So I suggest doing that for the base of your cheesecake. So I'm going to set this guy aside, let it cool down, and we're going to start making our filling. To make a cheesecake, the most important ingredient is cream cheese. Now I am very happy to tell you, after hundreds of comments, that I now have a Bold Baking Basics video of how you can make your own cream cheese. The results are fantastic, and you just need two ingredients. So for those of you who can't buy it, I really hope you try and make it, so then you can make all of my recipes that contain cream cheese. So this guy is going to go into the mixer. For making cheesecakes, make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature, because it will whip up so much better. Into our cream cheese, we're going to add in some brown sugar. Brown is preferable because chocolate chip cookies are generally made with a molasses-y kind of brown sugar, so that's why you use that. If you don't have brown, you can always use white. Next we're going to add in some vanilla extract, because I love vanilla extract, and I think it's a really important flavor in cookies. Now just turn your machine on to a medium-high speed, and let it whip up really well to get rid of any lumps in there. If needs be, stop the machine, go in with a spatula, and just scrape down the sides. So our cream cheese has been beating up for a few minutes, and as you can see, it is lovely and smooth. You want to make sure that all the lumps are out before you add in your cream, because otherwise they won't work themselves out. So get it out in this stage, and you won't have to worry about them. So into this mix, we're going to add in our whipping cream. You want to make sure the cream you use is good for whipping, because we need this mix to get nice and stiff. Now we're going to turn the machine back on medium-high speed, and let it all mix together. We want this cream cheese mix to get really nice and stiff, because this cheesecake doesn't contain eggs or gelatin, so we need it to be nice and firm so it'll set all by itself. So I've had a lot of questions about actually adding gelatin into the recipe, because cream cheese is different in every country, and some it's softer than in others. So I'm going to put notes on BiggerBolderBaking.com on the recipe, so you'll know if you want to add gelatin, you can do so and when. And that's it. It just takes a few minutes on a machine. You can also use a hand mixer. It is hard to do this by hand, but if you have a lot of elbow grease, a lot of strength, then you can. But just look at that. Lovely, thick cream cheese and cream mix. This is perfect. This is the texture that we want. So the very last thing we're going to add into our cheesecake filling are chocolate chips. An essential part of a cookie is going to make its way into our filling. Fold these in very gently. Just takes a few seconds. Now our cheesecake filling is ready to go into our tin. So I have my cookie base and it's nice and cold. And I have my delicious cookie filling. So this guy now goes straight into the tin. And just spread them out all over your cookie. Lastly, I like to tap my cheesecake on the counter and that releases any air bubbles and it also smooths them out on top. So that's it. That is our cheesecake. It took no time at all to make this little guy and it is going to be delicious, I can already tell. So I'm going to cover it in some cling wrap. Now for this cheesecake, because it contains no gelatin and no eggs, you're going to want to leave him in the refrigerator for that little bit longer. So I like to leave him in there overnight so he's really nice and firm for serving. So to top our cheesecake, I have something really special that you probably have never seen before. Cookie sprinkles. You roll up your dough really small, bake them off, and the result is the miniest of cookies. They are bigger than sprinkles but just look at how cute they are. Who would not want to see this on top of their dessert? So here's a cheesecake that I made yesterday because I wanted to make sure it was nice and set for you. I'm going to take it out of his tin. I'm pretty proud of this guy. Now like everything on Bigger Bolder Baking, he has to be dressed up, decorated, to look even more fantastic. So I have some freshly whipped cream here in a piping bag and with a star nozzle, I'm just going to pipe some lovely big rosettes all around the top of my cake. Now it's time to bring back our cookie sprinkles. So I have these guys. I'm going to place them on the top, right in the middle. Many as you want. Don't be shy with our cookie sprinkles. And then of course, on top of each rosette of cream. This dessert is definitely a commitment to cookie. Everywhere you look, there is something cookie. This is my first time making this dessert and I had the picture in my head but I'm surprised it actually came out looking like the picture in my head. This is fantastic. Now, because I went to all this trouble to make it, I am going to cut myself a slice. Look at that. Look at all the layers of cookie that we created. That gooey base, the thick cream cheese filling, and then the little cookie sprinkles on top. And then of course, a little bit of cream to add texture. I can't believe we've done so many episodes and I've never put a cookie on the bottom of a cheesecake. I'm a little bit disappointed in myself but at least we did it now. I think this has to be one of the best cheesecakes I've ever made. Share photos with me of your big and bold creations on my website and across all my social media and I'll see you back here next week for more Bigger Bolder Baking. It is rich and buttery, full of flavor.