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!
Table of Contents
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
Pin This Recipe
Enjoy AverieCooks.com Without Ads! 🆕
Go Ad Free
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.
©averiecooks.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
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!!
I’m attempting to make your Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, would it be to substitute some of the butter in that recipe with some cream cheese like you did here? And if so, how much would you substitute? Very excited to try these recipes! Thank you!
I haven’t tested or trialed that recipe using a cream cheese swap for some of the butter. It would probably work, but I don’t know the ratios, and how other ingredients may be effected, or baking time, etc. So you’d have to do some baking experimentation if you want to try!
Maybe this is a silly question, but why do we chill the dough if you let it come to room temp before baking them?
You don’t let it come to room temp before baking. You take chilled dough mounds, place on a cookie sheet, and bake.
“The cookies shown in the photos were baked with dough that had been chilled overnight, allowed to come to room temp for 15 minutes…”
I did not let them come to room temp. They turned out great. :) Just curious about that comment.
While the oven preheats, yes, I let the cookies sit on the baking sheet before going into the oven for 10-15 minutes but the dough doesn’t become ‘warm’ in that time. Play around with the recipe and see what works for you! In all my years of baking and cookbooks, this is what works best for me. Enjoy the cookies!
Hello there,
I was happy to see this recipe after trying so many “Blue Ribbon” chocolate chip cookie recipes and not being satisfied! As with many of the other commenters, I carefully measured flour and it seemed to be way too much, even after just 2 cups. I am wondering, in general, would you say it’s safe to go by looks and texture for the dough in this recipe? I am not familiar with ‘soft batch,’ so I’m not sure what I should be looking/feeling for when I play by ear. Thanks!
Replying to my own comment, they turned out perfectly! I feared what happened to some others, but they were fine. I ended up adding the full 2 1/4 cups of flour, too. My husband isn’t a chocolate chip cookie fan, but he tried one and said it was the best he’d ever had!
Glad they turned out perfectly and that your husband said they’re the best he’s ever had!
Hi – I am just in the process of making these cookies and my dough is dry too. I live at 9,500 feet so maybe they are over-floured but I measured with a light hand. Unfortunately the dough is so dry that I had to mix the chocolate chips with my hands. I formed the cookies into 2.5″ balls and they are in refrigerator chilling now. Is there anything I can do at this point to fix the dough or should I just go for it?
Thanks,
Liz
A tiny tiny splash of half-and-half or cream if you have it could make it better…but if you don’t, just go for it. And now you know for next time to use less flour given your altitude situation. LMK how it goes!
Hello,
I made these cookies last night and I followed all the directions exactly. When I was mixing all the ingredients the dough felt a little dry… So much so that when I added the chocolate chips I was unable to fold the chips in with a spatula I hand to work them in with my hands. I also expected the cookies to spread out rather then maintain the ball shape. Looking back I did feel that flour I added was a lot in comparison of the rest of the ingredients.
Is that something that can be adjusted or do you have any recommendations of what can adjust?
On the plus side my cookies didn’t look like those posted but they were delicious. I just would like them to be pretty like yours!
Given they were on the dryer side and didn’t spread, it’s fairly likely you over-floured them. Make sure to measure your flour with a very light hand and don’t pack it into the measuring cup. If you feel you didn’t over-flour, then given what you told me, I’d start with 1/4 less than I call for and go from there using common sense about the consistency of the dough. Glad they tasted delicious!
I love this recipe! You are amazing for bringing this into my life!
The first time I made these I didn’t have a kitchen aid mixer – so I used my handheld one and it was so difficult but the cookies turned out amazing.
This time around I have a Kitchen aid mixer (woo! Finally!). I followed your directions to a t! And when we baked the cookies they were terrible – they tasted bland and like nothing. We ended up throwing them all out they were that bad. We tried again and same issue.
Do you have any advice? Should I add more sugar to make them taste less bland? I’m so disappointed because these cookies are my absolute favorite! I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong or what to do.
If you have time I would appreciate any guidance you have! I just can’t give up on them!
Thank you so much!
When I got my first KitchenAid I found myself over-mixing things just because I loved all that power and maybe you’re overmixing? Not that that would necessarily make the cookies taste bland but it can overdevelop the gluten which can make them tough.
I would say maybe add a pinch of extra salt, that could help. Playing with the sugar ratio can effect the dough consistency so I wouldn’t do that. I’d mix less, add some salt, and maybe add a few more chocolate chips for a boost of more chocolate. LMK how it goes!
Averie, I have been making your cookies since I found them on pinterest. I just cannot see my life without them now. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad you can’t see your life without these now :)
is it a must to put cornstarch?
what will happen if dont put cornstarch?
They won’t be as soft if you don’t use it and the overall texture will change.
I followed everything but my cookies came out melted :/
Chocolate melts in the oven, yes. So that would be normal.
For all my cookie baking tips for perfect cookies, see this post.https://www.averiecooks.com/the-best-soft-and-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies/
The dough melted/ spread instead of being fluffy. The chocolate was fine. I’ll check out the link, thank you.
Loved the recipe! I tried it out and they were so good! I did leave them in for 20mins though. I may have done something differently, but they were not ready at 10 mins. I do live in a weird climate though. Still loved them sooooooo much!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! All ovens, climates, ingredients, etc. vary so baking as long as necessary for your situation was perfect!
I made these cookies today and they turned out to be absolutely divine! Thank you so much for this recipe everyone should make these. They are truly wonderful.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
These cookies look absolutely amazing Averie!
I stumbled upon your blog through Pinterest and have fallen in love. I’ve signed up for your email subscription immediately and can’t wait to see the next recipe :)
I like the idea of adding cream cheese to the recipe and will have to try it soon.
I also have a food blog and cookies are one of my favourite things to bake.
I hope we become better friends.
Payton x
Thanks for finding the recipe, my site, and for subscribing!
I hate to admit it but I always use a store bought mix or ready made dough for cookies until now! I was nervous about how homemade cookies would turn out for me since I seem to always mess something up but these were absolutely amazing! No one believed they were from scratch. This will definitely be my go to recipe from now on!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you and that this is your new go-to recipe, bye-bye mixes :)
Hi Averie! I had to comment on your recipe!! These were the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made! I usually put in the pudding mix to make the cookies softer, but they always would turn out crispy. I am not a fan of crispy crunchy cookies. So when I tried your recipe they were so soft and chewy! I couldn’t keep them on the plate my family loved them. Thank you for sharing! I am going to whip up a batch today!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you and that they’re the best CCC’s you’ve ever made!
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I followed your directions as written and the cookies turned out wonderfully. They are the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. My new go to recipe and just in time for the holidays.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you and that they’re the best CCC’s you’ve ever made!
Just made these–and they were perfect! Looked just like the pictures, and tasted even better than I imagined. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you – even better than you imagined!