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!!
I made these and they’re wonderful! I’ve baked chocolate chip cookies for years, but these are by far the best. So chocolaty! Absolutely my new favorite. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Thanks for letting me know these are your absolute new favorite chocolate chip cookies!
hello averie! I’m new to your site, and it’s beautiful. I tried this recipe, and I thouht it was great. however, i never seem to say this, but i think you had WAY too much chocolate ! I used 1 1/2 cups of chips and that was loaded but still ok.
As with anything, people’s tastes vary so do what you think is best with regard to the chocolate amount.
These look and sounds amazing! I want to make them now but I don’t have any cornstarch on hand! :( is it absolutely necessary or can I omit it here?
Thanks!
I would say it’s absolutely necessary if you want the true softbatch texture and consistency. If you can live without some of that softness, okay to omit.
Can you give me the brand name of the chocolate chunks that you used in the recipe?
It was 5 years ago and not sure if they still make these but it was the Enjoy Life brand. If you can’t find those I’d go with Trader Joe’s if there’s one in your area.
They center of the cookies would not cook. I probably baked two rounds. The first round I followed the directions perfectly . . Still uncooked center. The second I probably cooked 15 mins and still uncooked. Anyone else have this problem?
Not sure what to say as I’ve never had that problem with these cookies nor do I recall anyone else writing about it. If your dough balls are very domed and more like golf balls, flatten them to help alleviate the problem.
I made these today after looking for a good CC cookie recipe. Boy oh boy did they hit the spot! I love soft cookies and these were perfectly tender and chewy, melt in your mouth perfection! Definitely will make this recipe again and again! I love that it calls for only 1 egg and 1 stick of butter–not fussy and quick to whip up. These were just amazing!
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad they turned out amazing for you! Not fussy and quick are my goals!
What if I don’t have cream cheese but really want to make these?
Go to the store and buy some if you want them to turn out like the photos. Or choose another chocolate chip cookie recipe that I have – I have about 25 other variations.
This is the best cookie recipe ever!!! My daughter doesn’t like chocolate so I separated some of the dough before adding the chocolate chips and rolled those in cinnamon sugar. She said “Forget the cake, I want these for my birthday party!”
Thanks for trying the recipe – with chips and without + cinnamon sugar. Sounds delish! I am glad these will trump cake for her birthday :)
I don’t have a 2 inch cookie scoop, so could you tell me how many ounces each cookie ball should be?
In ounces, I am not sure. A large-ish ball, smaller than a golf ball but not by a ton.
I don’t know what I could have done, but they didn’t spread at all. They were still in a ball. I doubled the recipe, the only thing I can think I did wrong is maybe I didn’t add the right amount of butter..
Maybe you didn’t add enough butter or potentially added too much flour. Dough that’s overfloured doesn’t spread well and this is my guess in this case. In baking, use a light hand when measuring flour.
My Fiance and I started a tradition last year of baking cookies and dropping them off to the police and fire station on Christmas Eve. We recently moved to Florida and I decided to try this recipe- it does not disappoint!! I can’t wait to make another batch and keep them all to myself! Happy holidays, and to anyone reading this- MAKE THESE COOKIES! :)
Thanks for the glowing praise about these cookies and I love the tradition that you and your fiance started, that is so great!
Mine have a flour after taste! What did I do wrong?? They taste good besides that. They are nice and fluffy and look picture perfect but leave a dry taste in your mouth.
Not sure exactly why but if they taste too floury there is a chance you accidentally added a bit more flour than you thought you were adding is my guess. They’re one of the most popular cookies on my website and people love them – no one has ever mentioned a floury taste so not sure what you did.
Can I add more butter or sugar to the dough to even it out? I only baked a couple so far. How much would you recommended starting out with?
I would just start over, sorry to say. Baking is one of those things that you can’t go back and add sugar after the fact and expect the same results.
Hi. Any thoughts about this recipe in high altitude?? I usually have to add extra flour and 2 tsp of water, then decrease the amount of sugars for the Nestle Tollhouse recipe.
I am not sure how to advise since I live at sea level. Sorry!
These are by far, The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe I have ever tried. These are mouth watering and every time I eat one I just MMMMM…lol Thank you so much for the recipe. I will make these for all the special occasions.
So glad to hear these are the BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies that you’ve tried and you’ll make them again!
Softbatch Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
Oh my word!!! Where have these been my whole life? I made them exactly as your recipe and they are perfect!
People…. make them!! You won’t be sorry!
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad you loved them so much!
why will light cream cheese not work?
It has more water, cookies will spread.