Recipe: Homemade Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Hey Everyone!! I am so excited to share this recipe I recently made. My boyfriend for his birthday requested me to make him a cheesecake. I told him I would agree to it if I could make it without telling him what type and of course he agreed. This cheesecake is very much a NY styled cheesecake with a heavier consistency compared to my summer cheesecake (will be sharing that recipe soon!) which is lighter in comparison. So, without further ado, let's get started!!

Crust Ingredients:
1/2 C Oreo Cookies, finely crushed
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Filling Ingredients:
3 8oz packages of cream cheese, softened
1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Mini Chocolate Chips (plus 1/4 C for topping)
1 pinch Sea Salt - optional

I already made the salted caramel sauce a day prior to save on time. You can find that recipe here!

Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, grease a 9-inch springform pan and set aside.

For the Crust: 
Place 2 sleeves of oreo cookies in food processor and finely crush into crumbles. Move to bowl and add butter, mixing until well combined. Press mixture evenly into springform pan. Refrigerate until filling is prepared.

For the Filling:
Place cream cheese in mixer or mixing bowl and use electric beater to blend until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. I did it by hand and it took about 5 minutes - make sure the cream cheese is softened before beginning to blend or mix will not form correctly.

Beat in condensed milk until well blended. Beat in eggs, one by one, until well mixed. Mix in vanilla extract until well blended. Add in chocolate chips to bowl and fold in gently with a spatula until well mixed.

Remove crust mixture from fridge and pour batter into springform pan. Top with rest of chocolate chips.

Bake in preheated oven for 40-50 minutes, or until cheesecake is set and jiggles slightly in the center. Run a knife around the edge (leaving it in the pan) and place on a cooling rack. Allow cheesecake to cool before chilling the fridge in the springform pan overnight.

Before serving, heat caramel sauce in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds. Pop springform pan from cheesecake. Pour enough caramel sauce over the top of the cake to cover it. Top with more chocolate chips and sprinkle sea salt, if desired. Slice and serve immediately.