This chocolate chip cookie vanilla cheesecake starts with a thick chewy chocolate chip cookie layer topped with creamy cashew vanilla cheesecake, coconut whipped cream, more chocolate chips and a rich chocolate drizzle. It’s the perfect secretly healthy dessert for any special occasion! Gluten free, dairy free, paleo and vegan.
Yes, your calculations are correct. This is the second paleo and vegan cheesecake recipe that I’m sharing on the blog in the span of a week – but really, can you blame me? I might not be training for marathons right now, but cheesecake marathons are another story – and SO my ballgame right now.
Last week it was lemon strawberry, and today we’re going in another direction entirely. A direction where the streets are lined with thick chewy chocolate chips cookies and paved with chocolate glaze! And the houses are made of…vanilla cheesecake and coconut whipped cream?! Okay, I’ve gone too far, let’s talk delicious details before I lose you all.
To start off, I had a decision to make regarding the bottom cookie layer – to bake or not to bake?! If I went completely no-bake, what we’d really have here is is cookie dough cheesecake, which of course would be ridiculously good, but, it wasn’t quite my vision. I wanted sort of a cookie cake topped with all the other creamy layers and chocolate, so I decided to bake the bottom layer into a thick, chewy, vegan chocolate chip cookie.
The cheesecake layer is a cashew based vanilla cheesecake, and GUYS! It turned out so delicious with just a few ingredients – cashews, refined coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and lemon juice to give it the tartness of a true cheesecake. After blending the cheesecake mixture until nice and creamy, you simply pour it over the baked cookie crust and then chill until set. Make sure you use every drop – this is NOT a dessert you’ll want to waste any part of!
Rather than freezing this cheesecake, as I did with my lemon one, I found that the texture for this one was just perfect after spending a night tightly wrapped in the back of the refrigerator. It turned out insanely creamy and ready to be topped with coconut whipped cream! I made my whipped cream in advance and kept it refrigerated overnight as well, but you can just as easily make it right on the spot and spread it over the cheesecake.
One note on coconut whipped cream – I used to recommend using either canned coconut cream OR the thick part of a chilled can of coconut milk. While it SHOULD technically be possible to use the cream from the can of coconut milk, I’ve recently had several bad experiences where it just would not blend properly into whipped cream.
I DO think there are certain brands of canned coconut milk that are better for whipping, the one that seems to work nearly every time is Thai Kitchen. You simply chill the can overnight, and then scoop out the thick part only to make the whipped cream.
If you plan to use canned coconut cream, Native Forest is the brand I use that hasn’t failed me yet. However, I do not recommend using Native Forest coconut MILK for making whipped cream – it’s let me down too many times!
Lastly, I decided to add more chocolate chips and a chocolate drizzle, because, um, why not?! The drizzle is very similar to the glaze I used for my chocolate donuts, and hardens to a nice chocolate shell on the cold cheesecake. Make sure you allow the chocolate mixture to cool before drizzling though, so you don’t accidentally melt your cheesecake. After all that work, melting your cheesecake with a too-hot drizzle would just be so, so sad!
So, to sum up, we have a paleo and vegan (baked) chocolate chip cookie layer, a creamy no-bake cashew vanilla cheesecake layer, a coconut whipped cream layer, extra chocolate chips, and an optional chocolate drizzle/shell. I really hope you’re with me because I know you’re going to love this one! Just in time for Mother’s Day, right?! A whole chocolate chip cookie vanilla cheesecake just for you, just because. I’ll be right there with you 😉
Chocolate Chip Cookie Vanilla Cheesecake {Paleo & Vegan}
Chocolate Chip Cookie Vanilla Cheesecake {Paleo & Vegan}
Ingredients
For the Cookie Layer:
- 2/3 cup smooth almond butter
- 1/4 cup refined coconut oil melted and cooled*
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup blanched almond flour
- 2 Tbsp coconut flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips dairy & soy free or chopped dark chocolate, divided
For the Vanilla Cheesecake Layer:
- 2 cups cashews soaked for at least 4 hours (or overnight), rinsed well and gently dried with paper towel
- 1/4 cup refined coconut oil soft but solid
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
For the Coconut Whipped Cream:
- 1 small can coconut cream chilled overnight (about 2/3-3/4 cup)
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup or preferred sweetener
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- extra chocolate chips if desired
For the Chocolate Glaze**
- 1/4 cup refined coconut oil
- 2 Tbsp raw cacao powder
- 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
First, make the chocolate chip cookie layer:
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line an 8” springform pan with parchment just on the bottom, or line a regular 8 inch pan with parchment on the bottom and sides
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Whisk together the almond butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla until very smooth. Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to the wet and stir until a dough forms. Chill the dough if very sticky for about 5 minutes, then stir in 1/3 cup of the chocolate chips.
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Press into the bottom of the pan, then add the remaining chocolate chips on top and press in. bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes (place the pan on a baking sheet in case of leaking if you’re using a springform pan) or until center is just barely set. To keep the crust chewy it's essential not to over-bake (under-baking just a bit is okay, since the cake will be stored chilled)
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After removing from oven, cool on wire rack in the pan.
To Make the Cheesecake:
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While the cookie layer cools, make the vanilla cheesecake layer. Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor, and process/blend on high for several minutes, scraping the sides as needed, until a thick creamy mixture forms.
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Pour the cashew mixture over the cooled crust (or mostly cooled) and scrape the sides of the blender to use up all of it. Now it's time for the cake to set. If you are in a hurry, you can set the cake in the freezer by covering and freezing for about 2 hours. To serve, allow the cake to thaw in the fridge for a nice creamy consistency.
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You can also set the cake in the refrigerator overnight - simply cover and place in the back of your refrigerator and wake up to a perfectly creamy cheesecake!
Now for the toppings:
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To make the whipped cream, use an electric mixer to beat the cold coconut cream until smooth and creamy, then add the maple and vanilla and beat until well combined. Spread over the chilled cheesecake before serving, top with more chocolate chips if desired.
To Make the Glaze:
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Melt coconut oil over very low heat, then immediately whisk in cacao and maple until a shiny glaze forms, remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Allow to cool to room temp before drizzling. Glaze will harden after being drizzled on the cold cheesecake.
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***Storing Notes
Recipe Notes
*I used refined to avoid the coconut flavor that extra virgin has
**The glaze is entirely optional and makes it extra rich. In place of coconut oil, you can also use palm oil shortening
***Prior to topping, cheesecake can be stored in the freezer before being thawed in the refrigerator for several hours for a creamy texture. You can also store it covered in the refrigerator. After topping, it should be stored tightly covered in the refrigerator (preferably the back.)
Nutrition
What I Used To Make My Chocolate Chip Cookie Vanilla Cheesecake:
Want more Paleo & Vegan dessert Recipes? Try one of these!
Lemon Strawberry No-Bake Paleo & Vegan Cheesecake
Almond Butter & Jelly Cookie Bars
Paleo & Vegan Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
Tell Me!
What’s the last think you ate involving chocolate?
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Ok so this is absolute genius! I’d never think of making a giant cookie base for a cheesecake, but now I don’t think I ever want a regular cracker or biscuit base again, haha! Thanks for the great idea 🙂
Haha thank you! I definitely have a thing for cookie crusts, and cookie cakes, and really anything involving chocolate chip cookies 🙂
Hi I’m just wondering I’m eating healthy at the moment and I’m just wondering how many calories in one slice of this cheesecake? And can you habe a slice every day, or just one day a week?
Hi how many calories in a slice of this cheesecake? And can yiu have a slice every day or just one day a week? I’m eating healthy abd trying to maintain and lose bit of weight also
Hi! I’m not sure the exact calories, however here is a good online nutrition calculator that let’s you calculate stats for a recipe: https://www.verywell.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4129594 Even though this is a paleo and vegan dessert, if your goal is weight loss I would think eating this every day wouldn’t be the way to go, since it’s still an indulgence.
Hi, I love your recipes and am excited to try them. However, I recently found out that I’m allergic to coconut and eggs(although eggs aren’t in this recipe yeah). My question was would you have an idea what I could sub for the coconut flour? I’m wondering if I could sub organic palm shortening for the coconut oil? I don’t expect you to know all or do all substitutions but I thought I might ask just incase you had any suggestions and could save me time. Thanks in advance.
You can use all almond flour for the cookie recipe I think, though it hasn’t been tested, I think using a total of 1 and 1/3 cup should do it, at least that would be my guess if I were to try it! And using palm shortening for the middle layer and drizzle should definitely work as well, in fact for the drizzle it actually works better 🙂
This sounds amazing!!
Thanks! It’s my favorite right now 🙂
This is the best “cheesecake” ever!!! Ever since going dairy free and can’t have cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory I’ve been deprived of cheesecake! Well this is by far better then ” real ” cheesecake and less calories so I cake eat the whole thing in one sitting;)thank you for the great recipe
My husband ate this and totally thought of Cheesecake Factory! I’m seriously thrilled you loved it 🙂
Hope you try it!
Any idea the approximate net carbs for this dish (or by serving if you tell me how many servings you say it makes)? Thanks!
I would say 10 servings, hope this helps!
Well, I’m eating homemade granola right now, so that answers your chocolate question! 😉 This looks absolutely DELECTABLE!
Yum! I need to make some granola 🙂
Woah. Just…..woah. This is THEE perfect dessert for any and everyone, and it looks absolutely divine. Saving right now!
This is insanely beautiful Michele; you literally paved this street of cheesecake with incredible creativity. WOW. I’m just wanting to dig into some of it right now.
Any suggestions for substitution the cashews? This sounds delicious, but I have a 4 year old deathly allergic to cashews, and I won’t be able to hold her back from this! (Obvious answer is don’t make it, but it sounds so tasty!)
Thanks!
Sadly cashews are the only nut to work to get the “cheesecake” texture! If she is okay with almonds, here is another tasty vegan treat to make that my kids really like:
Ahh, darn. Thanks for the quick reply! (and do you have the link to the other recipe?) 🙂
Ooh sorry it didn’t show up! https://www.paleorunningmomma.com/almond-butter-jelly-cookie-bars-paleo-vegan/
Thank you! Those look tasty as well! I will be trying them out with my kiddos!
Hope you like!
I have made “nut cheese” with macadamia nuts instead of cashews. Maybe worth a shot for this.
Not sure how that would work but sounds interesting!
Can i use cashew butter instead?
Raw cashews are necessary for the cheesecake texture, sorry!
Could I use a gluten free flour blend (particularly Costco’s) for the crust?
Not sure how the other ingredients would work with it to get the texture right, so couldn’t say the amount needed.
Hey! I was just going to attempt to make this but I don’t have that specific 8 springform pan.. Can it be baked just on a normal baking pan?
Yes, I think you should line it with parchment paper though for easy removal.
My nursing baby doesn’t do well with Almond… is there another gluten-free flour I can sub in? Would Oat flour work?
This cheesecake is amazing! A big hit for company too. Thank you!
That’s so awesome to hear!
How long can it be kept in the fridge? I’m making it for Christmas Eve but have other things to make that day so I’d love to be able to make it in advance.
Hi is this cheescake gluten free?
Hi Michele,
This sounds amazing! My question is that can I use honey (mixed flowers) instead of maple syrup? Will the taste be off? I don’t have maple syrup right now and I don’t want to wait for it to arrive next week… But if you say that honey is no good here then I will wait haha
Thank you in advance!
Have a lovely day/evening! :))
Wow, A M A Z I N G!! Although I do wish the calories/carbs were less, but it’s so worth every bite!
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I have learned I jave an aversion to almost flour, what can I sub for this recipe
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The nutrition info does not say how big a serving is, so it makes offering the nutrition info pointless. Should at least state how many grams a serving is or how many slices.
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Incredible recipe! The combination of chocolate chip cookies and vanilla cheesecake is perfect! Definitely a hit for paleo and vegan diets. Highly recommend trying this!