Thick, soft, chewy cream cheese chocolate chip cookies! These cookies are a twist on the classic chocolate chip cookie, they’re so simple to make and are loaded with chocolate. The cream cheese adds a subtle flavor and makes them extremely soft!
I am a collector.
Zach might prefer the term hoarder but I disagree. I collect books, usually garnering approximately 3 new purchases before finishing my current read (thank goodness for the Kindle or my house would be a fire hazard). I have a drawer that’s literally full of pretty, way-too-sparkly nail polish colors even though I only paint my nails two to three times a year, and I have a cabinet cluttered with obscure cookie cutters, because you never know when you’re going to need to cut out a cookie in the shape of a lobster or an octopus, right?
Right.
My favorite collection, though, might just be my collection of chocolate chip cookie recipes, and today I’m adding a brand new one to share with you: these thick, chewy, super soft Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies.
I’d been toying with the idea of adding cream cheese to classic chocolate chip cookies for a while, and actually started working on this recipe around the same time that I developed my peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe, which revolutionized my love for peanut butter cookies. It sat on the back burner for a while, but a few weeks ago I decided it was time to bring this cookie to light.
I wanted a cookie that was soft and thick, but not cake-y (does anyone like cake-y cookies?), and while cream cheese is great for making baked goods soft (which is why I used it in my favorite coffee cake), it has a tendency to make cookies cakey rather than chewy.
After experimenting with a surplus of brown sugar, an extra egg yolk, a touch of cornstarch, and just the right amount of butter, these cream cheese chocolate chip cookies are finally, perfectly complete, and the latest addition to my chocolate chip cookie collection.
Tips for Making the Best Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Use full-fat, brick-style cream cheese (not the spreadable variety).
- I’ve found that the dough is easy to roll immediately after mixing together. If yours is too sticky, feel free to chill it in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to make it easier to roll.
- You don’t have to roll the dough, just dropping it by the spoonful will work, too, but the cookies will be much less attractive.
- I recommend reserving a half cup of chocolate (whether you use chunks or chips) and then once the cookies come out of the oven, gently nestle the chunks/chips into the tops of each cookie. You can skip this and stir all the chocolate in to the batter, but doing this really makes them look nice!
I hope you’ll try them out and add them to your collection, too! Enjoy! 🙂
How to Make Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies:
Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 oz (115 g) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 ¼ cup (250 g) light or dark brown sugar tightly packed
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups (437 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (340 g) semisweet chocolate chunks or chocolate chips divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer (or using an electric hand mixer and a large bowl), beat together butter and cream cheese until creamed.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature, 4 oz (115 g) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- Add sugars and beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Pause mid-way through to scrape down the sides of the bowl.1 ¼ cup (250 g) light or dark brown sugar, ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- Add egg and beat until combined, and stir in vanilla extract.1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.3 ½ cups (437 g) all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon cream of tartar, ½ teaspoon salt
- With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to your wet ingredients until completely combined.
- Using a spatula or with your mixer on low-speed, stir in 1 ½ cups of the chocolate chunks/chips, and pause to scrape down the sides of the bowl so that chocolate is well incorporated.2 cups (340 g) semisweet chocolate chunks or chocolate chips
- Scoop dough by 1 ½ Tablespoon-sized balls and gently roll between your palms for a smooth ball. Place on cookie sheet, spacing at least 2" apart, and bake on 350F (175C) for 8-10 minutes. Cookies may still seem soft in the centers but will continue to bake on the cookie sheet as they cool.
- Within one minute of removing from the oven, gently press remaining chocolate chunks/chips into the tops of each cookie. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for at least 10 minutes.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Samantha Robinet
the same thing happens to me!! I had to double the baking time and I’m an experienced baker!
Cheryl
mine did not spread like yours in the pictures. 😞 I had to bake them longer than suggested as well. almost doubled time. I measured everything by scale. They good cookies, just don’t look like yours.
Sam
Thank you for the feedback, Cheryl! I honestly am not sure why they didn’t spread if you used a scale to measure 🙁
Brenda Martinez
These are my favorite cookies ever! I love how easy and straightforward the recipe is. Thank you so much for sharing this with us!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Brenda! 🙂
David
I used what I had to work with- Man oh man am I going to make these again, real soon…
I didn’t have corn starch or cream of tartar, or unsalted butter- I used 2 sticks salted butter, and misread the sugar measurement as whole cup instead of half cup. Despite these errors they still turned out a lot better than I was thinking they would.
I folded in Reese’s Peanut Butter chips and GV Butterscotch morsels- almost a 2:1 peanut butter to butterscotch ratio, but not quite..
I didnt measure the balls for the cookies, but used a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop and plop the dough onto the parchment paper. They baked for about 22 minutes, mostly due to their size, before they were done
They turned out really fluffy melty like warm fresh butter cookies. They were not as completely sugary sweet as I thought they would(with the butterscotch it might have been too sweet for my taste), but they were also really filling or rich at the same time. As good as these turned out, I can’t wait to make a batch following your recipe fully, and am looking forward to making some of your other creations and recipes as I find them.