• Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Make the filling

• In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir together cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth and lump free. Fold in mini chocolate chips.
  8 oz cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips
• Scoop dough into heaping 1-Tablespoon portions (18g), you should have 20 portions (sometimes I get an extra, that’s OK!). Place on a parchment lined baing sheet and transfer to the freezer while you prepare your cookie dough.

Make the cookie dough

• Melt butter in a large, microwave-safe bowl. Add cocoa powder and espresso powder (if using) and whisk until smooth.
  1 cup unsalted butter, ½ cup natural cocoa powder, Pinch of espresso powder
• Add oil and whisk again. If the mixture is still warm, allow it to cool until no longer warm to the touch before proceeding.
  2 Tablespoons avocado oil
• Once no longer warm to the touch, add sugars and stir until well-combined.
  1 cup granulated sugar, ⅔ cup light brown sugar
• Add eggs and vanilla extract and stir well.
  2 large eggs, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• In a separate, medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking soda, baking power, and salt.
  3 ½ cups cake flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon table salt
• Gradually add dry ingredients to wet, stirring until just combined.
• Add mini chocolate chips and stir until well distributed through the dough.
  ¾ cup mini chocolate chips

Assemble cookies

• Scoop dough into 3 Tablespoon-sized scoops (67g). Roll into a ball and use your thumb to form an indent to the center of the dough. Remove a frozen cream cheese dollop from the freezer and gently press into the center of the dough. Fold the dough around the cream cheese to conceal it (if desired, pinch a bit of the cream cheese mixture through the dough and twist to reveal a bit of the cream cheese filling – I also demonstrate this in my video). The dough will be soft but manageable, if it’s too sticky to work with, just cover it and chill for 15 minutes or until workable.
• Dip or sprinkle the top of each cookie with additional mini chocolate chips, if desired.
  ¼ mini chocolate chips for topping cookies
• Transfer cookie dough balls to parchment paper lined baking sheet, spacing 2” (5cm) apart (I usually bake 6 cookies to a standard-sized cookie sheet).
• Transfer to center rack of 350F (175C) oven and bake for 10 minutes.
• After baking, allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet before removing (they will be very fragile when warm!). Once cooled completely , refrigerate in an airtight container.