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!!
Oh my, Averie…these are sinful! I can’t wait to make these. I can just imagine what the cream cheese does to them. (=
This looks and sounds absolutely delicious!
xx
Kelly
Sparkles and Shoes
Great idea, and the amount of melty chocolate is perfect. Mmm!
I swear the only thing I want for my birthday is a dozen of those cookies just for me.
If I think about the texture of cookies I’ve made with greek yogurt, I can sense how awesome using cream cheese would be. Greek yogurt usually yields a fairly cake-like cookie, so I can see how something similar but thicker would result in a soft cookie. Love the idea!
Soft and thick but not cakey – the best of all worlds for me!
Oh Av!
I have wanted to make cc cookies with cream cheese too!
Man on man these sound and look awesome.
I’m still obsessed with jacques torres cookie recipe–do you think I’ll get over it soon? I’m running out of ideas to create with it. lol
I know you love those Jacques Torres cookies. To me….they’re good but so much more work than my go-to choc chip cookie recipe or this one, just b/c you have to do the cake flour, bread flour, weigh it all, etc. Not tons of ‘work’, but with my fave recipe, I literally can make the dough in my sleep in 5 minutes flat! :) I feel like I’m running out of ideas and adaptations with it, too…lol
Oooh…I would go crazy over these!
Hhhmmmmm…Pretty sure I’d love this because my favorite ice cream recipes have a little cream cheese in them and it’s a game-changer! So, why not put them in cookies?! You’re a culinary genius :)
You’re so sweet – thank you, Loretta!
Good lordy, Averie! These cookies look incredible! So soft, buttery and perfect for indulging!
Ahhh, why did I never hear of cream cheese in chocolate chip cookies?? It sounds genius ;) Thank u for sharing the recipe!
http://www.speakstyleandrock.com
i have never tried cream cheese in chocolate chip cookies. it sounds fantastic!
These look awesome! I LOVE cream cheese – it makes everything better! I can’t wait to try these!
What do you recommend doing for high altitude baking with the cream cheese chocolate chip/chunk cookies? I can never seem to get my fluffy, they always flatten. I’d love to try these!
I live at sea level in San Diego and am not an expert on high altitude baking by any means. Have you tried these suggestions?
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipe/high-altitude-baking.html
I wish I could give you personalized tips but I don’t have the experience.
Oh man, I feel like having some cookies right now. They all look delicious, especially with the chocolate melted. Thanks for sharing from 3girls1apple.com
Not only do these look incredible, they TASTE incredible. My boys ate some today right after their late breakfast :-) and said they were delicious. I had to make them this morning so the smell was too much for them to wait until after lunch. They wake up so late in the summer anyway…it is basically brunch and then linner later on! Anyway, I omitted the cornstarch and just used a touch of arrowroot and the cream cheese made them so moist, Sim said. Awesome! Now our house smells so incredibly delicious. Thanks for the great treat, Averie! :-)
Thank you, Michele, for making these (so fast!) but I am not surprised that you got right down to business, knowing you :)
And because of your son’s corn allergy, thanks for LMK that a touch of arrowroot worked for you! And nothing like choc chip cookies baking to make a house smell wonderful, is there! Thanks for the great field report and glad your boys are happy with the cookies!
well you had me at soft batch…and I am going to admit that I was glad to read you couldn’t taste the cream cheese. I am not a lover of the taste of cream cheese unless it is in some ridicously fatty pasta sauce hahahaha….so now saying that why not a cookie. love always how creative you are!