Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake

Hi. I'm still alive. Life with 3 is a whole different world- 3, 3 and under I might add. Going from 1-2 kids wasn't so bad (that is until my crazy boy became mobile), but with 3 there's always someone that needs something. Someone's diaper to change or sippy to refill. I have been cooking up new things but unfortunately i've been using my 'free' time doing other things. So this cheesecake I actually made a while back ago but have been on edge about posting. While it was really good, I just loved this brownie mosaic cheesecake so much and have held it to the stanard. While it's not quite as good as that one, it's still pretty good and worthwhile to try.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake
Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients:
Crust:
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs

Filling:
4 8 oz. blocks cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sour cream

Cookie Dough:
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoon water or milk
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips
An additional 1 cup mini chocolate chips to fold into the batter with the cookie dough balls

Garnish:
1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped to stiff peaks
Mini chocolate chips, for sprinkling

Directions:
For the cookie dough:
In a medium bowl, combine the butter and sugars for the cookie dough. Add the water or milk, vanilla and blend. Mix in the flour, salt and the chocolate chips. The dough will be fairly soft. Gently roll the dough into small balls and place them on a wax paper lined plate or baking sheet. Place them in the freezer to harden while making the rest of the cheesecake.

For the crust:
Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan. In a medium bowl, combine the butter with the chocolate cookie crumbs. Press onto the bottom and about halfway up the sides of the prepared pan.

For the cheesecake:
Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat the cream cheese, sugar, eggs and flour until smooth. Add the vanilla and sour cream and mix just until blended. Be careful not to overmix – incorporating too much air into the batter can contribute to a cheesecake cracking on top during baking.
Pour half the batter into the prepared crust. Gently stir in the cookie dough balls and the additional 1 cup mini chocolate chips into the remaining batter. Pour into the pan, spreading the batter to the sides of the pan and evening it out across the top. Bake the cheesecake at 325 degrees for one hour. Turn off the oven and prop the door open several inches. Let the cake sit in the oven for an additional 30 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate until chilled ideally, overnight. To serve, cut into slices and top with whipped cream and mini chocolate chips.