Cream Cheese White Chocolate Chip Cookies — These soft and chewy white chocolate chip cookies use two special ingredients to achieve their pillowy texture: instant pudding mix and cream cheese!
White Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
When the weather gets warmer, I seem to crave white chocolate. I’ll never say no to regular chocolate chip cookies but white chocolate has been calling my name lately.
The cookies are extremely soft, moist, and creamy. To create them I combined two favorite recipes, Softbatch Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies and The Best Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. Both are reader and personal favorites.
Some of the butter is replaced with cream cheese and the white chocolate chip cookies have unparalleled richness. Interestingly, the cream cheese intensifies the buttery flavor so the cookies taste extra buttery, with a mild cheesecake flavor, and zero cakiness.
One of the secrets to these white chocolate cookies is pudding mix, and my favorite cookies all contain pudding mix because of the wonderful Softbatch-style results achieved. I found myself going back for nibble after nibble. Good thing the recipe only makes 11 cookies.
I had no willpower against the creamy, melty, sweet white chocolate and soft, buttery, rich dough.
What’s in White Chocolate Chip Cookies?
To make these white chocolate chip cookies, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Cream cheese
- Granulated sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Instant vanilla pudding mix
- Baking soda
- Salt
- White chocolate chips
How to Make White Chocolate Chip Cookies
To make these white chocolate chip cream cheese cookies, cream together the butter, sugars, cream cheese, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, then fold in the white chocolate chips.
Scoop the dough into balls. I like to move a few of the white chocolate chips to the top of each cookie to make them a little prettier.
Chill the rolled cookie dough for at least 3 hours, then bake until the edges have set and the tops have just set (the tops should still be a little glossy in the center). Let the white chocolate chip cookies cool for 10 minutes before eating them.
What Can I Substitute for the Pudding Mix?
There’s no true substitute for it. 2 teaspoons of cornstarch will likely work, but I haven’t tested it.
Do I Need to Make the Pudding Before Adding it to the Dough?
No, you add the pudding mix as a dry ingredient. You should NOT add any liquid to the pudding mix before mixing it into the cookie dough.
Can I Add Other Mix-Ins to These Cookies?
Yes, as long as you stick to dry mix-ins, like chopped nuts or dried fruit.
Tips for Making White Chocolate Chip Cookies
You must use old-fashioned brick-style cream cheese. Cream cheese in a tub or that’s ‘spreadable’ isn’t thick enough, has too much water content, and the cookies will spread. You can use lite, but not fat-free because some fat is necessary to properly bind the ingredients.
The cookies are sweet, rich, decadent, dense, and wonderfully thick. For cookies this thick, you must plan ahead and chill the dough. Soft, warm dough straight from the mixing bowl that contains softened butter and softened cream cheese will never bake up into thick, puffy cookies.
If you use a cookie scoop and bake on a Silpat, even better. All these little cookie baking tricks do add up to help you achieve bakery-style cookies at home.
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Soft and Chewy Cream Cheese White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 ounces about 1/4 cup cream cheese, softened*
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- one 3.5-ounce packet instant vanilla or cheesecake-flavored pudding mix
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 10 ounces white chocolate chips
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and electric mixer) combine the butter, cream cheese, sugars, egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until creamed and well combined, about 4 minutes
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, dry pudding mix, baking soda, optional salt, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the white chocolate, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.
- Using a large cookie scoop, 1/4-cup measure, or your hands, form approximately 13 to 14 equal-sized mounds of dough, roll into balls, and flatten slightly. Tip – Strategically place a few white chocolate chips right on top of each mound of dough by taking chips from the underside and adding them on top.
- Place mounds on a large plate or tray, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, up to 5 days. Do not bake with unchilled dough because cookies will bake thinner, flatter, and be more prone to spreading.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray. Place dough mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet) and bake for about 11 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just set, even if slightly undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center; don’t overbake. Cookies firm up as they cool.
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes before serving. I let them cool on the baking sheet and don’t use a rack.
Notes
- *Use cream cheese in a block, lite is okay; don’t use fat-free, ‘spreadable’, or cream cheese in a tub.
- Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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You seriously do no wrong when it comes to desserts, you were made for this career! I made these last night using milk chocolate chips because that’s what I had on hand, and they came fabulous! Soft, big, and not at all cakey…great cookie recipe! They were amazing right out of the oven, and remained just as soft and delicious the next morning (I may have had two for breakfast, shhh!)
Glad you tried these and loved them! I get impatient making more cookie dough balls plus I love big cookies :) but yes, make them smaller if you’d like and thanks for the compliments :)
Sorry I just replied to the person above you regarding the size! Ignore that part and glad the milk chocolate chips did the trick for you! Cookies for breakfast, not a bad thing :)
I was a bit skeptical to use cream cheese in cookies, but OMG these turned out so good! They were perfect! I think next time I will make them smaller though, so I can share with more people! Thanks for a great recipe!
Glad you tried these and loved them! I get impatient making more cookie dough balls plus I love big cookies :) but yes, make them smaller if you’d like and glad you’re over the skepticism :)
What a fabulous cookie, so irresistible!
This is my absolute dream cookie. Don’t tell anyone that I like white chocolate over regular, ok? And tangy cream cheese?!! Ok, fine. I’m making these stat. Pinned!
Thanks for pinning and I know, what is it about admitting to liking white chocolate being some sort of ‘shameful secret’ – you’d think it was based on the reactions of some people..haha!
Honestly – I never learn to not read your blog on an empty stomach! These look nothing short of divine!
Anisa – The Macadames. xx
http://www.themacadames.com
You’re so sweet and thank you!
I need to get on this whole cream cheese cookies things STAT! The way you describe them has me drooling ;)
I think you have reinvented the soft cookie phenom with the addition of cream cheese! You seriously got it all in this recipe – cream cheese, pudding mix, and brown sugar. And the white chocolate chips are icing on the cake! I feel you, somehow hotter weather makes dark chocolate feel so heavy … and white chocolate feel lighter (how does that work … ;)
I never thought of it, but you’re right, they sort of do hit on all the buzz-worthy things right now, brown sugar, cream cheese, pudding mix. The dough was super good, I will tell you that :)
they look great. i love white choc chips!
These cookies sound fantastic! I love that you used cream cheese in the dough… and they’re so thick and soft-looking! Pinning ;)
Thanks for pinning, Allie!
Mmm…these fair beauties are the perfect counterpart to the dark & handsome cookies I just made! We should hook them up; imagine their offspring! :D
Actually the offspring would be these I think :)
They’re adorbs! :D
Averie, you are the Queen of delicious cookies. Beautiful as always.
Thanks, Kathy, for the compliments :)
First, the next time I’m in San Diego I’m stopping by for a photography lesson :) Second, as soon as I’m done with this cleanse, I’m making myself a batch of cream cheese cookies – it’s been way too long! Third, now I’m totally craving white chocolate! Stunning as usual Averie – pinned!
Thanks for the compliments on my images but I honestly don’t like these – at all. But thank you :) And I have been thinking of you non-stop with the cleanse and hoping you’re hanging in there!
Those look so good! Love the use of the cream cheese in them!
Thanks, Kevin, and thanks for the pins today, too! Appreciated and got you back :)
These cookies are gorgeous Ms. Cookie Queen! I’m usually all about the dark chocolate, but white chocolate mixed in with cream cheese cookies (which are totally the way to do it) sounds pretty amazing. These are definitely getting pinned. :)
Thanks for the pins and I love my dark chocolate too but something about white in the summer…Love it :)
My family loves white chocolate macadamia cookies, but I’m the world’s pickest eater. I can’t stand crunchy things in my chewy cookies. This looks like a delicious compromise we would both love. Pinned!
I never put nuts in cookies so you’re safe here :)
There is nothing better than a cookie made with cream cheese. They’re so soft, chewy, and moist. I love this version.
Just pinned your cauli mac and cheese – looks awesome!