Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

My niece was a part of my daycare this past year and I'm a big sucker for my nieces and nephews. If it is in my power to make something that they want happen, I will definitely do it. She was my cooking buddy this past year and we did a lot of baking on the days that she was at my house. So, for her birthday we poured through my pinterest boards and she got to pick out something that she wanted to make for her birthday dessert. She saw this chocolate chip cheesecake and her mind was made up. So, this is the treat that we made... She has great taste if you ask me! This was fabulous and it was fun to make this kind of treat with her! (She also suckered me into the sugar flower to go on top of it!)

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
(recipe found at roxanashomebaking.com via pinterest)

Crust
8 oreo cookies
1/4 cup walnuts
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Cheesecake
2 1/2 cups (20 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup greek yogurt, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Ganache
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream

Heat the oven to 325. Grease a 9 inch heavy duty pan. Wrap the outside of the pan with aluminum foil. In a food processor, add the Oreo cookies and the walnuts. Pulse until finely ground. Mix with the melted butter. Press the crust evenly on the bottom of the prepared pan. Refrigerate for 5 minutes while making the cheesecake filling. In a mixing bowl, add the cream cheese, yogurt and sugar. With the paddle attachment on, beat on low speed until just combined. In a separate bowl, lightly whisk the eggs then add them to the cheese mixture. Stir in the vanilla. With a spatula, fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Pour the cheesecake filling over the prepared crust. Place the cheesecake in a roasting pan filled with hot water. Make sure there's around 1 inch of water in the roasting pan otherwise the water will evaporate before the cheesecake is fully baked. Bake the cheesecake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off, slightly open the door and leave the cheesecake to cool in the warm oven for about 2 hours. Remove from the oven and refrigerate 4 or more hours before slicing. Just before serving, spoon a little ganache over each slice of cheesecake. To make the ganache, add the chocolate chips and heavy cream to a heatproof bowl. Microwave for a couple of seconds until the chocolate is melted. Stir to combine. Pour a little ganache over each slice of cheesecake.