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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Hello! This is a incredible recipe and I can’t wait to try. But here in Brazil we use other measures, could you tell me how many spoons of pudding mix are ? I researched in the convertor and says 100 grams , but I think this is too much. So is better I ask . Thank you and sorry about my bad english :)
You want to use 3.5 ounces converted to grams. Pudding mix is pretty lightweight and about the same density as granulated (white) sugar is so how many grams of sugar is 3.5 ounces of sugar, that’s the measurement I’d use. There are online conversion tools to help.
Love these! Made them a few days ago and was worried if they would turn out as puffy and chewy as the ones above but they did!
I’ll definitely be making these again!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
Hi Averie!
These cookies look delicious and I can’t wait to bake them for my boyfriend on our anniversary next week since it has two of the things he loves must: white chocolate and cream cheese. I know you insist on using brick-style cream cheese but where I live it’s really hard (impossible) to find it. Is there anyway I could change the recipe to use spreadable cream cheese and avoid cookies from spreading?
Have a nive weekend!
IB
Try with spreadable but just make sure it’s not reduced fat or lite in any way. If the dough seems at all thin, add a touch more flour. And bake with really cold, well-chilled dough and I think you may be okay. Let me know how it goes! And happy anniversary!
I just made the Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip cookies and just realized that I forgot the 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Panicking that they will not come out okay. They were great the last two times that I made them.
I also made the White chocolate ones but could not find cheesecake so I made it with Coconut Cream pudding. Anxious to see how they come out!
In this recipe, because there’s other sugar and white choc chips, I think you will be fine. If they for some reason aren’t sweet enough, you could always dust them with powdered sugar after you bake them.
Hello Avery, If I couldn´t get the instant puddin, what else could I substitute it with? These cookies read delicious!!!!!!
2 teaspoons of cornstarch could work. I recommend the pudding mix though if it’s possible for you to get it!
Hi, I have yet to try my hand at baking these and my have I been craving these so badly. I even have the stuff for it waiting for its time to shine. Heh.
I have a question about this recipe though. Would it affect the baking time or anything if I were to try and add something else to the mix? Like say maybe some pieces of macadamia?
As long as it’s a dry ingredient so to speak, like chopped nuts or even dried fruit, I don’t think that will change baking time. Enjoy!
Hi Averie, I was wondering if it would make a difference taste-wise if I made these 2-3 days in advance, sort of like how your molasses bars get much better after waiting for a couple of days.
With cookies, I think they are best the day of and then the next day because I think cookies age differently than bars in terms of getting drier, faster. Molasses is one of those flavors that DOES get better over time, yes. With these there’s no real flavor like that used that will enhance as time passes so I think days 1-2 are the peak.
Hey Averie, could these be baked as bars?
Probably but I haven’t tried it so I can’t speak to the baking time, pan size, etc.
I have made these cookies three times over the last two (or so) months and they are my new favorite cookies EVER. They absolutely top the list, #1, no cookies are better than these! I’m not sure if it’s the white chocolate or the slight cheesecake flavor or the combination of both, but I’m so in love with them, it’s ridiculous. I’ve been meaning to tackle your best snickerdoodles recipe next, but I keep coming back to these. Cannot resist!
You’re the second person in the last day who’s said these are your absolute favorite cookies EVER. That is so awesome you love them so much – and yes, the white chocolate with the slight cheesecake flavor – so good! If you end up cheating on these to try the Best Snickerdoodles, let me know what you think of those!
These are seriously the best (and easiest) cookies I’ve ever made!! I made them a bit smaller (about twenty cookies), and they were gone in two days. I can’t believe how soft and chewy they were!! I used chocolate chips filled with caramel sauce.
Seriously, thank you. You’ve made my holiday gift giving (cookie samplers) so much easier!
Wow, that is amazing praise that these are the BEST and THE EASIEST cookies you’ve ever made…wow, thank you so much for saying that!! I am so happy you’re happy and that this will make your holidays easier! The chocolate chips filled with caramel sauce sound amazing and I don’t know why I’ve never noticed those! Must keep an eye out now!
Can you use sugar free instant pudding?
I have heard mixed reviews about using SF pudding because of texture issues so I have never tried it personally so cannot speak to results. I always use regular because it’s guaranteed to work.
Personally, do you prefer using the vanilla or cheesecake pudding flavor? thanks!
Either one, depends on my mood. Cheesecake flavor is harder for me to come across so I end up using vanilla more frequently.
I think you should also index these under “breakfast” recipes to eliminate all guilt I have for the 2 of these delightfully perfect luscious cookies I may or may not have eaten before my eggs and toast. Just consider it :D
I love the idea of cookies for breakfast :) So glad you loved these!
Bought the stuff to make these but now I want to double the recipe and I only have one box of pudding. Think it will still work? Or have any ideas of something else to add? My son is asleep so I can’t run to the store
Yes, you’ll be fine :)
Oh, yum yum . I’ve been wanting to make these since you posted them, and I had an excuse today (you know, other than, “dang, I could use a baked good) – my hubby wants to thank a coworker who was super awesome yesterday, and what better way than with homemade cookies? I made them with semisweet chocolate chips (I’m not a fan of white chocolate, and who says you can’t substitute), and they’re YUMMY. I’m going to take some to the neighbor’s, and send some with the hubby to work tomorrow. Otherwise they might all end up in me. :-) Another win for Averie!
Thanks for trying these and glad you loved them! And I know what you mean about wanting to/needing to donate stuff :) You have lucky friends & neighbors!
Ok, I think these are officially my FAVORITE chocolate chip cookie. I just made a huge batch with a mixture of semi sweet and milk chocolate chips, and they.are.FANTASTIC. Everybody who tries them loves them. The dough freezes well. They’re fun to make (because creaming cream cheese is fun to watch).
I mean, I love peanut butter to death. Especially PB and chocolate.
But sometimes you need a good *basic* chocolate chip cookie recipe. And this is IT.
Thank you for what you do. Your work is appreciated!
Thanks for the glowing compliment and for saying what I do is appreciated! Wow, I totally needed to hear that today :) Thank you!! I am so glad you love these and that everyone else who’s tried them loves them and that you have a new FAVORITE choc chip cookie! That’s awesome :)
Your cookies always look gorgeous and perfect and make me want to grab one right from the screen. I love how soft and thick these look and with the white chocolate chips? Like I said, just perfect :) Pinning :)
Thanks for the compliments and for pinning, Kelly!