recipe: chocolate chip cheesecake bars

this was holiday party baking part 2. after a 15+ hour work day yesterday, i was relieved i had picked out two quick & easy recipes for the night last night. i had found this recipe also through foodgawker.com - i loved that it takes two classic (and delish) all american deserts and gives them a twist when combined. the recipe is from Dainty Chef - i just halved the recipe, and used classic Nestle chocolate chip cookie recipe for the cookie base (it's old trusty, and i wasn't in the mood to mess around).

ingredients list:
- 1 cup & 2 tbsp flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup & 2 tbsp granulated sugar, separated
- 1/4 cup & 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 & 1/2 eggs, separated
- 1/2 (12 oz) package chocolate chips
- 1/2 package (4 oz) cream cheese, softened at room temp

to make: preheat oven to 375 degrees. grease (or line with parchment paper) a 7x11" baking dish, and set aside. combine flour, baking soda, and salt in small bowl.

beat butter, 1/4 cup & 2 tbsp granulated sugar, brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp vanilla in mixer bowl. add 1 egg, beating well. gradually beat in flour mixture, then stir in chocolate chips (reserving a few extra). divide dough into two separate portions, and set aside. in separate bowl, cream the cream cheese with 1/4 cup granulated sugar until thoroughly combined. beat in the 1/2 egg and 1/4 tsp vanilla.

spread 1/2 of the cookie dough across bottom of the prepared baking dish, then spread the cheesecake mixture on top of dough. with the remaining 1/2 batch of cookie dough, flatten chunks of the dough into small discs, then place on top of the cheesecake mixture (allowing a little of the cheesecake mixture to show through). drop the extra chocolate chips on top. bake for 25-35 minutes, until top is browned and cooked through. cool completely, then store in the refrigerator until serve time.
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so... i was so not into eating anymore sweets i didn't even try these (besides a crumb that fell off when cutting into squares). they looked good, and they got great reviews... but i did not have it in me to eat anymore. rating is open ended, but i can say for sure i would definitely make these again... fun, yum recipe.