I don’t deal well with failure. Quinn likes to say that I would have made a terrible scientist. I like things to work well the first time.
When working on a recipe, sometimes you have to accept failure, learn from it, and try to make changes to make it work. Then there are the other times. The times when everything goes just as it should and the outcome is just as you’d hoped. This is one of those times.
These cookies worked on my first try. And that makes me very happy. Granted, the recipe isn’t overly complicated. But, if you think it’s difficult to mess up a cookie recipe, you might want to reconsider that.
Regardless of how I got there, I’m pleased to share this little twist on chocolate chip cookies. The thing that makes these different, as you can tell by the title, is the presence of my good friend cream cheese. The amount of butter for a traditional chocolate chip cookie is reduced and replaced with a good dose of cream cheese. These cookies are a little cake-y and just the right amount of sweet.
Ingredients
- 2 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 & 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease or line baking pans.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Beat butter, cream cheese, sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in vanilla.
Gradually add flour mixture, mixing until almost combined. Add chocolate chips, stirring until dough is thoroughly mixed.
Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto prepared pans. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned. (These cookies will not brown like classic chocolate chip cookies.)
Cool cookies completely on pan on wire racks.
http://www.bakeorbreak.com/2012/04/cream-cheese-chocolate-chip-cookies/
April 30th, 2012 at 5:48 pm
on my list of “to create” i’ve had, way , way, in the back cream cheese infused cc cookies.
looks like i need to make these sooner than later
April 30th, 2012 at 6:00 pm
These look soooooooooo good. I am the same way, I hate to try a recipe and have it turn out like crap. It infuriates me!
April 30th, 2012 at 7:00 pm
I love sour cream chocolate chip cookies so I’ll definitely try these. Love when they can add to the overall texture.
April 30th, 2012 at 7:57 pm
I love the idea of a cream cheese chocolate chip cookie! Mmmm!
May 1st, 2012 at 4:53 am
What a great twist on the classic chocolate chip cookie! Yum!
May 1st, 2012 at 3:31 pm
Hmmm, cream cheese chocolate chip cookies!!! I might have to make these, they look delicious
May 2nd, 2012 at 1:24 am
I love the idea of making these with cream cheese – they look like lovely light pillows of deliciousness!
May 3rd, 2012 at 6:53 am
You can never EVER go wrong adding cream cheese to anything! What a fabulous idea. YUUUMMM!
May 4th, 2012 at 12:16 am
Wow! It looks yummier in this amazing photo of yours. I baked lot of cookies for my son and this one is on my list for weekends. I always served cookies on silver rimmed plates. You are amazing.
May 5th, 2012 at 11:28 am
I am going to make these before I finish my Biggest Loser contestant application and after my Overeaters Anonymous meeting.
May 5th, 2012 at 6:03 pm
Sounds like a great combo!
May 14th, 2012 at 5:42 am
These look fantastic! One question. I have a family member who isn’t a fan of cream cheese recipes. How dominant is the cream cheese flavor in cookie? Thanks! great site!
May 14th, 2012 at 12:06 pm
Matt, the cream cheese punch, though not overwhelming, is definitely there. When some people tried them, they couldn’t identify the flavor of it. If you think it’s too much, you could try cutting back to 4 ounces of cream cheese and adding about 4 tablespoons of butter.
May 16th, 2012 at 12:04 pm
Made these yesterday as bar cookies in a 13×9 pan. They are so moist and have just a little tang from the cream cheese, which cuts the sweetness a bit. They are a great variation on a choc chip cookie (or bar)! Thanks for the recipe!
June 18th, 2012 at 10:45 am
I made these the other day and they went up in smoke! Thanks so much for the recipe! I posted it about it on my site.
June 29th, 2012 at 12:04 pm
I just made these cookies using this recipe. They are amazing! More dense then regular chocolate chip cookies so it gives it kind of a cake feel but still majority cookie feel. The cream cheese adds a set of of flavor when it mixes with all the other ingredients. Definitely something that satisfied my taste pallet. One small detail I do not have a cooling rack so the cookies cooled different due to the cream cheese. When I bake regular chocolate chip cookies they cool alright and the consistency is fine without me using a cooling rack. These cookies however the moisture gets trapped on the bottom when you do not use a cooling rack. Due to the lack of butter the cookie does not firm up together as well. So my recommendation is if you do not have a cooling rack and plan to make some of these delectable cookies go buy a cooling rack. I am almost positive that would have fixed my problem but the cookies were still very enjoyable. I am sure my goddaughter will love them when I bring them to her and her family.
July 30th, 2012 at 11:01 am
I made these this afternoon and they are delicious! I love the taste and texture that the cream cheese brings. My only complaint is that after five of them, you start to feel a little unwell!
Thanks for the recipe.
August 17th, 2012 at 9:23 am
Just finished making a batch…need to hide them away so that there will be some left for when Dad comes home tonight! They were delicious–soft and cake-like as others have said, with just the right amount of sweetness. The cream cheese rounds out the flavors very well. Thanks for the recipe!
September 18th, 2012 at 6:15 pm
Just made these and YUM! Two thumbs up from both hubby and I. Definitely a keeper! Soft and cakey but taste like choc. Chip cheesecake. Thanks for sharing!
October 10th, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Just made these and I have to say they aren’t my favorite… A little too cakey. Not sure if it is supposed to have baking soda instead of baking powder because mine looked nothing like your pictures. They puffed up a lot when I baked them
October 19th, 2012 at 6:31 am
I made these yesterday. My only question is how sticky is the dough supposed to be? The first 2 pans I did, I noticed that the dough was really wet and sticky. Now this is the first homemade cave made in years and didn’t know if it is because of the cream cheese or because I had my 5 year old help measure the flour, so I added about 1/4c more flour the second batch and it was still pretty wet . Either way they turned out great!
October 19th, 2012 at 6:33 am
sorry cookies not cave, lol. Auto fill
October 19th, 2012 at 6:51 am
Katy, I would describe the dough as slightly sticky but not wet. Maybe your butter was too soft?
December 3rd, 2012 at 10:18 pm
Was wondering if maybe I did something wrong, I followed the recipe, but mine turned out like little cake stacks….any suggestions? I was dying to try these and the picture looks great, however, I couldn’t quite make them look like that.
December 6th, 2012 at 10:15 am
Cris, maybe you had too much flour or overmixed the dough?
December 12th, 2012 at 11:40 am
I just made these with a variation on the chips and extract. They’re okay, but a little too cakey and ugly. They aren’t round and flat like your picture…more lumpy. Probably won’t use this recipe again. Sorry.
January 13th, 2013 at 4:03 am
I don’t like cream cheese … Or any of my baking for that matter but these are amazing! I’m actually surprised there are any baked cookies! One scoop dough for the pan and two for me! Fantastic recipe! Definitely a keeper! Thanks for posting it (:
January 17th, 2013 at 10:59 am
I made these last night and they worked out great. I halved the recipe because we just don’t need that many delicious cookies lying around when we’re about to be stranded in our house for a couple days of winter storms!
I heeded the advice above and moved the cookies to the cooling rack almost immediately. They were dense enough that they didn’t fall apart in the process, which was delightful.
Mine are definitely ugly, but I didn’t use a cookie scoop, which I’m sure is how yours turned out so gorgeous. A somewhat lumpy appearance doesn’t detract from how wonderfully rich they are!
This will probably be my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe from now on! Thank you!
February 9th, 2013 at 11:39 pm
Yumm! I made these tonight for company we had over, and everyone loved them and raved about them. Mine weren’t very pretty, though. Very lumpy and odd shaped. I ended up kinda pressing them down with a fork when they came out of the oven because mine were so puffed up. BUT, they were delicious and so moist. I love the cream cheese tangy flavor:) Definitely a keeper!
March 15th, 2013 at 10:52 pm
I googled this recipe, and I’m so pleased with the results! I also wrote down the recipe for my recipe card book.
I wrote about it at my blog. Here’s the entry:
http://avbofsteel.wordpress.com/2013/03/16/chocolate-chip-cream-cheese-portland-cookies/
April 26th, 2013 at 8:35 pm
Had some cream cheese I had to use so I just finished making these and they are great .Turned out just like the picture. Using an ice cream scoop makes a big difference very pretty cookies.