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
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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!!
Will try your recipe. Looks great.
Thank you so much for sharing! I will have to buy cream cheese tonight. I normally buy light or fat free cream cheese. My husband is the “Cookie Monster ” in our family, and I am certain he’ll enjoy these.
Amazing. I had to bake an extra 2-3 minutes because they were really under-done, but they puffed up so nicely. Mine always turn out flat like a pancake with chocolate chip lumps in them. But these were great. Definitely whip the butter/cream cheese/sugars in the first step for the full 5 minutes she recommends. I think this helps keep the cookies from getting flat. Great recipe.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! And that they cookies puffed up nicely for you!
Help! They won’t cook. I got 26 cookies as opposed to your 28. As per your warning, I took them out after 10 minutes, let them set, but still not cooked. I put them back in for 3 minutes and no change. Any ideas what I could have done wrong?
All ovens bake differently. I would just continue baking until they’re done in your oven, how ever long that may take.
I dint have a 2,inch cookie scoop, what can I use as a substitute or what would the baking time be with a one tablespoon scoop?
I don’t know exactly the baking time because I don’t make cookies that small. I would say 7-8 minutes as purely a guess. Watch your cookies and your oven.
Is it ok to freeze the dough?
Yes
Thank you. We live 2 hours from the nearest store. I will wait and make them next week. Thanks again
Even if I don’t have enough?
Then I’d use milk but really…I’d go to the store and buy the proper ingredients so they come out tasting like proper chocolate chip cookies, but that’s me.
Help! I only have semi sweet, unsweet, and milk chocolate chips/bars. Can I use either of the other two with the semi sweet? Thank you can’t wait!
I would just use all semi sweet.
I tried these cookies today and it was heavenly! Had the dough in the refrigerator overnight. The only thing I did differently was I put in an additional half cup of chocolate chunks . They were already broken up so I put it in but it turned out perfect. It was just oooey gooey chocolatey and yummy. I’m definitely sticking with this recipe. Thank you so much!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Glad you’re sticking with this recipe!
These sound awesome! We are getting ready to go on vacation, and would like to bake these ahead of time, and freeze them for the trip. Do you think they will freeze OK?
Yes I do and also give freezing instructions at the end of the directions regarding my thoughts on that in more detail.
Ugh … thought I had cornstarch … any replacements possible? or am i running to the store ?? thanks in advance
You can omit but then you’re going to miss out on some of the texture in the final result. Your call. I don’t ever substitute it with anything but I have heard from some readers with allergies that tapioca starch can work. But I’m assuming you don’t have that on hand :)
This is my new go to recipe for chocolate chip cookies! My mom had always made the Toll House recipe and so that’s what I did but these are absolutely amazing! My sister tells me my dad pulled them out of the freezer and told her she just had to try them….needless to say I try to keep his freezer stocked with them? Only change is I use dark chocolate chips, because dad prefers them. We love the chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips just as much too. Trying my luck with a batch of frozen chocolate peanut butter chip dough balls I made a few weeks ago today, wish me luck!
Glad to hear this is your new go-to recipe for chocolate chip cookies! I bet they’re great with peanut butter chips, too :)
Absolutely delicious! One thing I modified, because I didn’t read through the entire recipe before beginning, my fault. I didn’t have 2 hours to refrigerate the dough, so I popped mine in the freezer for about 45 minutes and had wonderful results. The cookies were puffy and had that wonderful crispiness on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth middle. Also, the creaming of the sugars for the 5 minutes with a stand mixer is so important! I know that is one of the reasons they turn out so soft. When I make cream cheese frosting, I cream for quite awhile to achieve that fluffy and creamy consistency. I’m sure that’s one of the reasons for the softness of this cookie. So if some are struggling with the proper consistency with this cookie, make sure you’re creaming for the amount of time in the recipe. It makes a difference! Sorry for the long comment, they were delicious! I can’t wait to try some of your modifications of this recipe.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Glad you can appreciate the longer creaming time and that the freezer trick worked for you!
These are delicious! I mixed Ghiradelli white and semi-sweet and they were great!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
I have made these cookies and I agree, these are the best chocolate chip cookies EVER!
Have you experimented with using some cream cheese in Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies?
Would love the recipe if you have!
Thank you!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you and glad you agree they’re the best CCC’s EVER!
Haven’t tried cream cheese in PB cookies but I do have a recipe that just came to mind that almost has that same texture and mouth-feel, it’s older but I still remember them soooo fondly! You will love them! https://www.averiecooks.com/lofthouse-style-soft-peanut-butter-chip-sugar-cookies-with-peanut-butter-frosting/