In “It’s Kind of a Funny Story,” the lead character says this: “A person’s relationship with food is one of their most important relationships.”

As the movie mostly takes place in a mental health rehabilitation facility, I knew I wanted to do a pairing with it for Mental Health Awareness Month.

I saw this movie at a very pivotal point in my life, when one of my favorite foods was the cookie dough cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory. I know this recipe is a little more time-consuming than my usual entries, but one of my favorite forms of clearing my mind and taking care of my mental health is to spend time on a baking project.

This vegan, gluten-free chocolate-covered cookie dough cheesecake makes approximately 8-10 “servings.”

Cookie Crust Ingredients
0.5 cups margarine or dairy-free butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons cane sugar
0.25 cups almond milk
2 teaspoons cookie butter extract
1.75 cups 1-to-1 gluten-free flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
0.25 teaspoons salt
1 cup vegan, gluten-free chocolate chips

Edible Cookie Dough Ingredients
1 cup margarine or dairy-free butter, softened
2 cups brown sugar
6 tablespoons cane sugar
0.5 cups almond milk
4 teaspoons cookie butter extract
3.5 cups 1-to-1 gluten-free flour, heat treated
0.25 teaspoons salt
2 cups vegan, gluten-free chocolate chips

Cheesecake Filling Ingredients
24 ounces vegan cream cheese, softened
8 ounces vegan vanilla or plain yogurt
1 cup vegan whipping cream or creamer
1 cup vegan sugar
8 tablespoons corn starch
1 tablespoon cookie butter extract
half of the edible cookie dough batch

Topping Ingredients
1 bag vegan, gluten-free chocolate chips
1 tablespoon plant-based cream or creamer
half of the edible cookie dough batch

Instructions
Cream the butter, brown sugar and cane sugar together in a bowl or stand mixer. Then add the almond milk and cookie butter extract and cream more. If you don’t have cookie butter extract, you can substitute vanilla.

Add the flour, baking soda and salt until a dough starts to form.

Mix in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease the bottom of your springform pan for the cheesecake.

Press the dough into the bottom of the pan and make sure it is as even as possible.

Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes or until it is a light golden brown.

For the first five minutes of the crust baking, heat treat the flour needed for the edible cookie dough. I spread mine out on a baking sheet.

Move onto making the filling while the flour heat treats.

In a stand mixer or bowl, cream together the cream cheese and yogurt until smooth.

Mix in the sugar, corn starch and cookie butter extract, again until a smooth cheesecake filling is formed.

To start the edible cookie dough, cream the butter, brown sugar and cane sugar together in a bowl or stand mixer. Then add the almond milk and cookie butter extract and cream more.

Add the flour, baking soda and salt until a dough starts to form.

Mix in the chocolate chips.

You can form the dough into balls now or wait until you’re adding them to the cheesecake. Chill the dough until the crust is done.

Keep the oven at 350°F.

Boil 3-4 cups of water and have a pan ready that is big enough to put it and the springform pan into (this is referred to as making a water bath).

Pour the cheesecake filling on top of the crust, then scoop half of the edible cookie dough into it.

Keep the remaining edible cookie dough in the fridge until you’re ready to use it as a topping.

Make sure the top of the cheesecake is smooth.

Fill the bottom of your water bath pan with the boiling water. Then place your springform pan with the cheesecake in it.

Bake the cheesecake at 350°F for 60-65 minutes or until it is mostly set (it’s OK if it’s a little wiggly) and a light golden color. Another indicator of the cheesecake being done is when the water has entirely evaporated from the bath. If it cracks, it doesn’t matter too much since it will be covered by chocolate.

Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake cool in there for 10 minutes. Cool the cheesecake on the counter for 15 minutes, then chill it in the fridge for at least four hours or overnight.

When the chilling time is almost up, make the ganache topping by melting the chocolate chips into the cream or creamer in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring between heat cycles.

Carefully remove the outer ring from your cheesecake’s springform pan then pour the chocolate over the top and spread it out so the cheesecake is covered on the top and the sides. (I recommend putting your cheesecake in a storage container to prevent a mess from any ganache that spills over the edge of the springform pan bottom.)

Chill the chocolate-covered cheesecake in the fridge for at least an hour then scoop the cookie dough as you like it on top of it. We used little balls, but you could put bigger scoops along the rim to mark each slice.

Slice and serve while you watch “It’s Kind of a Funny Story!”

The Easy Route
Using a premade vegan, gluten-free cookie dough for the topping is one way to make this easier, and we did just that.

However, I don’t recommend using store-bought cookie dough for the crust and filling, as it generally has more oil for preservation and it will seep into your cheesecake (we had a rather disastrous first recipe test, so trust me on this).

If you know of a restaurant, bakery or store that makes a vegan, gluten-free chocolate-covered cookie dough cheesecake, please share those details in the comments.

The Pairing
I saw “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” when it came out in 2010, and I could really relate to the mental health issues the lead character, Craig (Keir Gilchrist), was going through.

He is 16 and checks himself into a mental health facility at the beginning of the film, citing overwhelming anxiety and depression pushing him to the point of being suicidal.

Having faced two similar incidents in my teens and early 20s really helped draw me into this story and Craig’s journey to recovery.

On top of the plot, there are some fantastical scenes and imagery to go with Craig’s narration.

Gilchrist is perfect as Craig, and Emma Roberts and Zoë Kravitz also give great early performances.

The adults in the cast are also phenomenal, including Zach Galifianakis as a fellow patient, Lauren Graham and Jim Gaffigan as Craig’s parents and Viola Davis and Jeremy Davies as hospital staff.

On top of the engaging story and terrific performances, there is a fantastic late 2000s/early 2010s score and soundtrack that especially struck me when I rewatched it last month.

While this movie is not my specific story, rewatching it felt like a time capsule back into that period of my life, amplified by the soundtrack featuring some of my favorite songs of that time period.

If you decide to make a cookie dough cheesecake and/or watch “It’s Kind of a Funny Story,” let us know! Tag us in your Instagram posts & stories, threads, tweets or TikTok videos: @veg_out_recipes