Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies — 🍪🙌🏻🤎These soft batch cookies are made with a combination of butter and cream cheese, which makes them extra rich and delicious! I like to make mine using a combination of chocolate chips and chunks, and you can even use M&M’s in these!
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Soft Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies (with Cream Cheese!)
I’ve been wanting to bake cream cheese into cookies for ages. I finally did. And I’m in love with the results.
I adapted my favorite Chocolate Chip and Chunk Cookies recipe and replaced some of the butter with cream cheese and am in love with the results.
My favorite recipe calls for 3/4 cup of butter, and for these soft batch chocolate chip cookies I used a combination of 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup cream cheese. You wouldn’t think that just a simple quarter-cup swap of butter for cream cheese would effect results that much, but it did.
These chocolate chip cream cheese cookies are so soft, moist, and with a richness to the dough like no other cookies I’ve tried.
Ingredients for Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you’ve never made chocolate chip cookies with cream cheese before, you’re in for a treat! You’ll need just a handful of pantry staples:
- Unsalted butter
- Cream cheese
- Light brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
The steps for this chocolate chip cookie recipe with cream cheese couldn’t be simpler!
- Cream together the cream cheese, butter, sugars, and vanilla extract. Whip the mixture on medium-high speed until it’s light and fluffy. Don’t just mix it all together, it must be light and fluffy before moving onto the next step!
- Add in the dry ingredients and scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything gets incorporated.
- Scoop the cookie dough into large balls and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before baking.
- Bake the cookies for no more than 10 minutes, then let cool for 5 minutes on the baking tray before transferring to a wire rack.
Cookie FAQs
It makes them super soft and moist! In this particular recipe, the dough seems more buttery — which is ironic since there’s actually less butter used, not more. The cream cheese cookies are super soft without being cakey, and remind me of soft batch cookies. The edges are slightly chewy, and the thick interiors are soft, tender, and moist.
I can’t taste the cream cheese, but it adds depth, density, and richness that my regular chocolate chip cookies don’t have.
Use full-fat cream cheese in a block. Do NOT use light, fat-free, or a whipped cream cheese because your dough will become runny. I tried the recipe with some light cream cheese I had on hand, and the cookies baked thinner and spread.
You can use a hand mixer and a bowl if that’s all you have, but I prefer using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment because you can prepare other parts of the recipe while it’s busy mixing. I use the Kitchenaid 7-quart tilt head mixer, which you can get on Amazon. They’re worth the investment in my opinion!
Technically, you can omit the cornstarch, but your cookies won’t turn out as soft. To make these cream cheese chocolate chip cookies soft batch-style, the cornstarch is needed.
I made these as classic chocolate chip cream cheese cookies, but I bet you could add extra mix-ins if desired. Chopped nuts, M&M’s, or your favorite chopped up candy bar would all be good additions. Just be sure to add no more than 2 1/4 cups mix-ins total. 
Yes, if you want to make soft batch chocolate chip cookies with cream cheese you MUST chill the dough first. Make sure to chill your dough for at least 2 hours before you bake to ensure your cookies bake thick and puffy. Warm, limp dough bakes into limpy and wimpy cookies. I want my cookies to be thick, with puffy centers that are overflowing with chocolate.
I used a 2-inch cookie scoop to make my cookies because I like them really big. If you don’t have a cookie scoop, use a large spoon and your hands. Just try to make your cookies all the same size so they bake evenly!
Recipe Video Tutorial
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Softbatch Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup cream cheese, softened*
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt, optional and to taste
- 2 ¼ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks**
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, cream cheese (measure it by smooshing it into a 1/4-cup measure), sugars, egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until well-creamed, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes (or use an electric hand mixer and beat for at least 7 minutes).
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, optional salt, and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.
- Add chocolate chips and chunks, and beat momentarily to incorporate, or fold in by hand.
- Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form heaping mounds (I made 28). Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds slightly with your palm, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat or spray with cooking spray and place mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet).
- Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if slightly undercooked, pale and glossy in the center. Do not bake longer than 10 minutes as cookies will firm up as they cool.
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.***
- Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Cookies Made with Cream Cheese:
ALL OF MY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPES!
Cream Cheese Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cookies — Cream cheese keeps them super soft! Say hello to your new fave chocolate cookie!!
Black and White Cream Cheese Cookies — These cookies combine two favorites in one! Soft, moist, buttery, creamy Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies are paired with fudgy, intensely chocolaty, and not overly sweet Dark Chocolate Dark Brown Sugar Cookies.
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!
Cream Cheese Cookies — Big, soft, buttery cookies with sweet and tangy cream cheese in the middle!! Oh my….Best thumbprints ever!!!
Softbatch Glazed Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies — Big, bold lemon flavor packed into super soft cookies thanks to the cream cheese!! Tangy-sweet perfection! Lemon lovers are going to adore these easy cookies!!
My husband hates homemade chocolate chip cookies, I have no idea why, but he just prefers the place and bake from toll house. I made him these cookies last Friday just as a treat and to see if he would like them. He ate the entire batch of cookies by Saturday night! He and I love these cookies, they are seriously amazing and great for picky cookie eaters.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you and that your husband ate the entire batch in a day! That’s great to hear :)
OMGosh! I made the Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies with these changes: instead of flour I used Bobs Gluten Free Flour, real butter & vanilla and duck eggs. (I doubled the batch). Chilled the dough over night and 1/2 of the cookies I rolled spoonfuls of cookie dough in walnuts before baking. (My husband has to have walnuts in his CCC) I baked for 8min and WHAM!!! These were UNBELIEVABLE Gluten Free Cookies!!! Beautiful proud little bunches of yummy goodness!!!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you and that the Bob’s GF and duck eggs (that is a first from a reader in 6+ years of doing this!!) worked out great for you. I love hearing stories like this and so glad you have a hit on your hands!
I’m not one to leave comments on recipes, but these were AMAZING! I must say, my husband was a bit uncertain, but he absolutely loved them! I ended up using twice as much cream cheese, and it was really moist and fluffy. I’m not sure how they taste in comparison to the original recipe.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you with double the cream cheese and I can imagine that they were definitely soft, fluffy, and moist!
What if I used salted butter instead of unsalted? What difference would that make?
They’ll taste saltier.
Make these and they were not great. I’ve never used conrnstarch in any cookie recipe. Will stick to the experts next time.
Can u tell me , how many gram in cup ? Bc im confused cant try recipe when i dont know the gram ingridients
I use American cups and ounces and unfortunately can’t tell you the gram weight since I didn’t measure it that way.
Sigh…I had such hope. Now, I have chocolate chip hockey pucks. I followed the recipe exactly, measured everything carefully, and baked as instructed. The cookies look like little pucks and have about the same density. They didn’t speread AT ALL which is probably why they look like pucks. They taste awful too despite the fact the raw batter seemed to be awesome. They have no buttery flavor and no cookie flavor…only tasty bits are the giradelli chocolate chips I used…totally bummed.
I think you overbaked them. If they’re that hard, they’re overbaked. All ovens, cookie sheets, climates, etc. vary and bake until done (but not overdone) in your oven with your variables is suggestion #1. Second suggestion is that many people over-measure their flour. Use a VERY light hand when measuring flour. The fact that they didn’t spread at all indicates they were likely over-floured. Thanks for trying the recipe and I think by using a lighter hand w/ the flour and baking less, you’ll be in business next time.
One of my rules is that a bit of dark chocolate every day is requirement. These killer cookies are just the perfect thing. I made a double batch for my husband to take to work yesterday and they were gone in 15 minutes! He only got two. Needless to say they were a major hit!!! Looking for another reason to make them real soon!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you and that a double batch was gone in 15 mins!! Love that! And also love your ‘rule’ :)
Hi, I wonder if this would work as a bar cookie? Would adjustments be required? Love your recipes!
Probably would be fine; just bake longer than you’d bake cookies, 20-25 minutes or so, but that’s just a guess.
I kept my bigger cookies baking just until a little after 11 minutes at 350 degrees and they came out perfectly, just a tad soft in the middle but not too underdone and most importantly, not overdone. Your recipe is my first chocolate chip cookie attempt and they came out so good! Thanks again! Now I’m excited to try more cookie recipes :)
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad they came out just right: just a tad soft in the middle but not too underdone and most importantly, not overdone. Amen to that!
I already made the dough and the texture is already perfect I see :) However, if I made bigger sized cookies, I would assume I would bake them about 10-11 minutes? I prefer large-sized cookies whenever possible. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Yes, bake longer. Not exactly sure how long to say; go with your best judgment and pull them before you think you need to as they’ll firm up as they cool like all cookies. Enjoy!
I live in Australia and just want to check are these US measurements? I just want to ensure I convert these ingredients measurements so they turn out the way the are meant to!
Yes, US measurements.
Hi! I tried this recipe with a few minor tweaks and it worked brilliantly. I over cooked the first batch slightly but it was still delicious. It’s amazing what a difference a little cream cheese makes! I’ve added a link back to your blog as credit for the recipe – thank you
https://themorethanoccasionalbaker.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/triple-chocolate-chip-cream-cheese.html
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
Has anyone tried these with pecans or walnuts?
I haven’t personally but I bet they’d be good!
Thank you for this recipe! I am so bad at baking but I love chocolate chip cookies. This is the first recipe I have used where they actually turned out good. All the little extra instructions (like you need to let them set in the fridge before baking, rotate them at 4 minutes, etc…) I didn’t know. I finally have delicious homemade cookies :)
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad all my tips and tricks came in handy and now you have a homemade cookie recipe under your belt!
Just made these, and they are delicious!! Light and airy with almost a cheesecake taste to them :)
Thanks for trying the recipe on Easter Sunday! And so glad they came out great for you!