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!!
I made this recipe exactly but I only put it in the fridge for an hour because I am unfortunately impatient oops. After 8 minutes, the dough balls were still in the shape of a ball! Which was surprising to me cuz I thought it would flatten easier because I didn’t refrigerate it for that long. Is it because i overcrowded it? I fit all 24 cookies in the pan because I am also unfortunately lazy haha.
Things that are overcrowded will take longer to cook through. Also, you could have over-floured the dough which results in a stiffer dough that spreads less. Or your oven just may need more time to bake them through; all ovens vary.
Pls help me locate you zucchini cookies. Unable to pull it up
I don’t have a zucchini cookie recipe. All my zucchini recipes are here https://www.averiecooks.com/tag/zucchini
Hands down, the best chocolate chip cookie I have ever made! Girl….. This will be my go-to cookie from now on. I only got 22 out of it though – I like big cookies!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it’s the best CCC you’ve ever made!
Hello! I’m baking them today!!! But I have an electric oven. Do I have to adjust baking time?
Thank you :)
Bake until they’re done, whatever that means or takes using the oven you have. Enjoy!
Hi, I was wondering if they would still turn out if I used less chocolate chips
Yes you can use less chips.
This recipe sounds amazing! But before I try it I have a question. I do not have cornstarch, only baking soda and baking powder. Can i use baking powder in place of the cornstarch and baking soda combination?
You should make the recipe as written and don’t try to sub because the cookies will not have the proper texture.
These cookies are fantastic! I baked them for around 11 minutes just to get them a little more golden brown around the edges. I will absolutely make these again.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
Thank you for creating this recipe, Averie! I have been searching for a truly soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe for years, and this is it! I love how these stay soft after they’ve cooled, too, instead of getting crunchy and hard like so many other cookies. I will definitely bake these again, especially since I can play with different chocolates and mix-ins (and because my husband is begging for more of these)!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Glad your search is over and you’ll make these again!
Could you use some almond flour and some coconut flour to make them healthier?
This isn’t a ‘healthy cookie’ recipe and I wouldn’t tweak this one. I have lots of healthy cookies and muffin recipes. Google Averie Cooks Healthy Cookies Muffins and lots will come up.
These cookies were to die for! So dense and rich. Also fool-proof. All my cookies came out exactly the same, with very little spread. Definitely a keeper!!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Glad it’s a keeper!
Absolutely the best cookies I have ever made in my life. This may just have been external variables (e.g. over-packing the flour), but I ended up adding one additional egg (yolk only), because the dough was just the slightest bit too crumbly. Refrigerated for about 3 hours and baked for 10 minutes on the dot = cookietopia. This recipe has already been distributed to multiple friends :)
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad that these turned out to be the best cookies you’ve ever made!! Quite the high praise, thanks!
And yes overpacking flour can be remedied by adding a yolk , great thinking and glad everything worked out great!
These are just as good as she claims! I made them with 1/3 fat cream cheese and these are the best I have ever tasted! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! And that you agree it lives up to the claims! Glad they’re the best you’ve ever tasted!
Oh my. Chocolate chip cookies is my spirit food. That looks really fab! May I know what brand of choc chunks do u use in this recipe? I’m unable to get the chocolate I’m using to melt and so they are definitely not gooeyy..
Thanks!
Try Trader Joe’s chocolate chunks. They’re great!
My banana bread! So moist even after it has been frozen ….
How long would I bake this as a cookie cake in a round pan?
Not sure since I haven’t tried. My guess is 20-25 mins…
So this is the second time I made these cookies. The first time, they looked just like the pictures. But not at 8 min. . I had to leave them in for almost 13 min? Anyways, love the recipe. But this time they are pale, and look different?
Any idea of what I might have done? I also had to leave them in for 14 min, any longer they would have burned. How can I get them golden brown? Also should I move the oven rack to a specific spot?
Sometimes with baking even though it seems you did everything exactly the same, there are variables like climate/weather/humidity that effect things, or the way you measured your ingredients, etc. I would not worry about the time on the clock and would concern myself only when the cookies were done to my liking as all ovens, climates, etc vary and bake as long as needed given your variables. Middle oven rack is what I recommend.