Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Squares

Be still, my beating heart. Two of my very favorite things combined into one decadent dessert -chocolate chip cookies and cheesecake! Another winner from foodgawker.com - this one came from here. I made it for our small group this past weekend and it was declared fabulous by everyone except the one guy who hates cheesecake. (Even HE said the flavor was good....he just has an aversion to cream cheese.)
Personally, I just couldn't get enough of them, which is why I sent most of the leftovers home with people.
And one of the best parts......you don't have to worry about the cheesecake cracking!
I doubled this recipe and made it in a 13 x 9" pan. It worked out great, except I discovered you really don't need to double the chocolate topping. I didn't, in fact, and still had leftover chocolate, so I would suggest using a bit less if you make this as written.

Recipe:
Crust:
1 & 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
5 T. butter, melted
2/3 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cookie Dough:
5 T. butter, room temp.
1/3 c. packed light brown sugar
3 T. sugar
1/4 t. coarse salt
1 ts. vanilla extract
3/4 c. flour
1 c. chocolate chips

Cheesecake Filling:
10 oz. cream cheese, room temp.
1/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla extract

Topping:
1/3 c. chocolate chips
1 t. shortening

Preheat oven to 325°.

For the crust:
Line an 8 x 8 pan with foil and grease it well.
Crush graham crackers into crumbs to make 1 & 1/2 cups. Add to butter and stir until crumbs are moistened. Stir in chocolate chips.
Press crust mixture into bottom of pan. Bake for 6 minutes. Set pan on wire rack to cool.

For cookie dough:
Using mixer and the paddle attachment, mix butter, brown sugar, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract at medium speed until smooth. Adjust mixer speed to low and add flour. Mix just until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips. Set aside.

For cheesecake:
Using mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add egg and vanilla extract, beating just until blended.
Pour batter into cooled, baked crust. Drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls over the top of the filling. The dough is crumbly and you'll have to squeeze/roll it if you want balls. I put in as many dough balls as I could, then just crumbled the rest over the top. It seems like a ton of cookie dough, but it is just so good, so go ahead and use it!
Bake about 30 minutes, or until set. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Place in the refrigerator to chill several hours.

For the topping:
Combine the chocolate chips and shortening and melt in the microwave at 30 second intervals at 50% power. Stir after each interval; repeat until melted.

Drizzle over the bars before serving. Note: Bars will look better if you cut before drizzling - I found that if you drizzle over the whole thing, chill, then cut, the topping breaks and doesn't stay where it belongs very well.