Preheat oven to 325 degrees. To begin, gather all your ingredients so that you have everything close at hand on the counter or table. Prepare your ingredients. Place vanilla wafers in a quart freezer bag and finely crush the cookies with a rolling pin or the flat side of a meat tenderizing mallet. Using a nut chopper, finely chop pecans.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine vanilla wafer crumbs, shredded coconut, and granulated sugar. Add melted butter and mix well. Press onto the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth. Mix in the granulated sugar, and then add eggs one at a time, mixing well between additions. Add vanilla extract. Fold in miniature chocolate chips.
Pour into prepared crust, spreading the cream cheese mixture to the edges and leveling it with a rubber spatula.
Bake at 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes until center is nearly set. Turn off oven and allow cheesecake to cool for an hour. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen. Let cool completely. Cover the pan with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight. When ready to serve, remove from the springform pan. Makes 16 servings.
Notes
*Unless otherwise indicated, all butter used on this recipe site is salted.