Softbatch Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies 🍪

YES CREAM CHEESE!! AND I AM LOVING THE RESULT!! 

I recently had the BEST DARK CHOCOLATE COOKIES WITH SEA SALT IN NY...OMG ABSOLUTELY DEVINE @paindavignon @theplazafoodhallnyc  

Anyway getting back to my post, this is an adapted recipe of a Chocolate Chip and Chunk Cookie recipe where some of the butter is replaced with cream cheese. 

The original recipe calls for 3/4 cup of butter and for these cookies, a combination of 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup cream cheese is used.

You wouldn’t think that just a simple quarter-cup swap of butter for cream cheese would effect results that much, but it did.

They’re so soft, moist, and with a richness to the dough like no other cookies I’ve tried.

The dough seems more buttery, which is ironic since there’s actually less butter used, not more.

They’re so soft, moist, and with a richness to the dough like no other cookies I’ve tried.

You can’t taste the cream cheese, but it adds depth, density, and richness that a regular chocolate chip cookies don’t have. Don’t use light, fat-free, or a whipped cream cheese because your dough will become runny. Use cream cheese in a block or the spreadable kind. Smoosh it into a one-quarter cup measure and cream it with the butter and sugars.

Make sure to chill your dough for at least two 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 combination of 2 1/4 cups of chocolate chips and chunks to ensure plenty of chocolate in every bite.

The Cornstarch is the secret weapon for creating these super soft cookies.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt, optional and to taste
2 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks (I used 1 cup chips and 1 1/4 cups chunks)

DIRECTIONS:

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 ice-cream scoop, form heaping mounds . 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 non slip baking mat or spray with cooking spray and place mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart. 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. They have chewy edges with soft, pillowy centers. 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. 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.