Pre-heat oven to 325° F and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Combine the baking soda, salt, and flour in a bowl. Sift or whisk to blend.

Set the unsweetened chocolate chips in a double boiler over medium heat to melt. Stir them every few minutes so the chocolate doesn’t burn.

While the chips are melting, use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a hand mixer) to cream the butter, sugar, and corn syrup together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again.

With the mixer on low speed, stream in the melted chocolate. Scrape down the bowl again.

Add the dry ingredients in two parts, scraping the bowl between each addition. Mix until the dough comes together.

With the mixer on low speed, stream in the water and continue mixing until fully incorporated and the dough comes together.

Note from Katie: It's optional but I like to let the dough sit on the counter, wrapped in plastic, for at least an hour before rolling it out. This allows it to hydrate so that it's easier to work with.

Roll the dough out to be about ¼ to ½ inch thick, depending on how much crust you want on your cheesecake.

Tip from Katie: I do this by putting a piece of parchment paper below and on top of the dough to keep it from sticking to the rolling pin.

Use a circle cutter about 2.5 inches in diameter to cut out 15 dough circles.

Gently press 12 of the dough circles into the lined muffin tins. Place the other three on a parchment-lined baking sheet, to be baked into cookies.

Bake the crusts and the cookies for 12 minutes. If you have extra dough, you can reroll it and cut out more circles for additional delicious chocolate cookies, or wrap it in plastic and place the block in your freezer to use for another round of cheesecakes. Set the muffin tin aside to cool while you prepare the cheesecake batter.

Crumble the three cookies and set aside in a bowl to use as a topping for the final product.

Preheat the oven to 325° F.

Sift the matcha powder.

Combine the eggs and vanilla paste.

With a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a hand mixer), cream the sugar and cream cheese until smooth.

Add the eggs and vanilla paste in two parts, mixing each time until they're fully incorporated. Scrape down the bowl before the second addition. Scrape down the bowl again.