Cream Cheese Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies. Need I really say more?
JUMP TO RECIPE NOTES
I was going through my files the other day and was dismayed to see that I still had a handful of fairly old recipes I had not shared on the blog. (It’s pretty obvious that this is one of the oldies because my photography style is a bit different these days.) Funnily enough, I was not surprised in the least because my backlogs have always been crazy. It still is, because I publish so slowly lol.
But it’s a seriously good thing these Cream Cheese Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies are not time-sensitive. I can’t imagine you would need a particular time or date to enjoy these super indulgent yummy babies. This is one for the books, fellow choco chip cookie lovers. TRUST ME.
Here at home, we’re kind of picky (slightly critical?) about our chocolate chip cookies. And by that I don’t mean that we’re snobs though it may seem that way outwardly. It’s just that since I am a baking enthusiast with an actual Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Collection on this blog, I have made a lot of really good cookies in my life. And when you’ve made and eaten a lot of good cookies, you inevitably form solid opinions on how you like them.
Now while these Cream Cheese Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies did not dethrone my choco chip cookie favorites, they were a HUGE HIT in our household. And that counts for a lot.
It seems kind of impossible not to like these. (Unless for some reason you hate cream cheese or cheesecake I guess?) It’s like a marriage of two really awesome things in a chubby cookie form. If you ever asked the question ‘How do we make chocolate chip cookies even better?’, the answer is apparently ‘We stuff them with cream cheese.’
Recipe notes
- I reduced the amount of confectioners’ sugar from the original recipe. Because I found the filling a little too sweet, I used 1/3 cup sugar instead of the original 1/2 cup. I felt 1/2 cup makes the filling unnecessarily sweet since the cookie dough is sweet enough already. I probably wouldn’t go down to 1/4 cup though because the cream cheese might be too soft to scoop. You can give it a try.
- You can make these cookies by hand or using the mixer. I have included instructions for both methods.
- Chocolate chips and chunks will yield different results for the cookies. Normally I preach using a combo of chips and chunks, but in this case, the chocolate chunks might melt and bleed into the filling. This isn’t bad in itself, but you might prefer a purely white filling for the sake of aesthetics. You can use purely chocolate chips for chocolate that won’t bleed into the cream cheese. It’ll taste great either way.
- Use different size ice cream scoops for dough and filling. I used a 2-Tablespoon ice cream scoop for my cookies, and a melon baller for the cream cheese filling. It’ll be easier to handle the filling when it’s cold, by the way.
- Make sure to seal the cream cheese securely inside the cookie dough. No cracks, no peeking cream cheese in sight! Seal the cream cheese properly so it doesn’t leak out at any point while baking.
- Space cookies 2 inches apart on the baking trays. These do spread nicely so you don’t want them to bake into each other.
- The original recipe yields 24 cookies, but I only managed to make 18. My cookies were probably a little bigger than what the original author of this recipe intended, which is why I needed to bake them a little longer. The cookies are done when they’re nicely golden brown around the edges and the tops look just set. Dividing them into 24 cookies, you need to bake them for 9 minutes. But because my cookies were bigger, they were way too soft at 9 minutes and not golden enough around the edges so I baked them a few minutes more. Depending on how you divide your cookie dough, you may need to adjust your baking time. Be alert.
- Let cookies cool in the baking tray for at least 3 minutes before moving them. They will be pretty fragile freshly out of the oven so give them a bit of time to cool down and set. Otherwise they may break open when moved from the baking sheets too early.
- To make your cream cheese filling creamy and soft, microwave the cookies for about 10 seconds before enjoying. These cookies are stored in the fridge so the filling does set, however it is still quite delicious cold. The experience is a bit different when the cream cheese is creamy and almost gooey in the center though! You have at least 18 chances to decide which you prefer.
Cream Cheese Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
For the cream cheese filling:
- 1 bar (225 grams) cream cheese, at room temperature
- ⅓ to ½ cup confectioners' sugar, depending on your sweet tooth
For the cookie dough:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chocolate chips or chunks or combination, (note that chunks might melt and bleed into the filling)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Make the cream cheese filling:
- In a medium bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), beat the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar together for 1 to 2 minutes (medium speed) until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Once smooth, transfer to a smaller bowl if you wish and place the cream cheese mixture into the fridge. (If it's very hot where you live, you may want to pop this into the freezer.)
Make the cookie dough:
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until fluffy. (If using the stand mixer, you can use the same mixing bowl and paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.)
- Add in the egg, egg yolk, vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Mix for 1 minute until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Using a 2-Tablespoon cookie scoop, portion out the dough into 18 mounds. Press each dough ball into a flat circle. Take out the cold cream cheese mixture from the fridge/freezer. Using a 2 teaspoon scooper, scoop out cold cream cheese and place in the center of the flattened dough.
- Wrap the edges of the dough around the cream cheese mound, forming them into a ball and making sure the cream cheese is sealed inside. Place the cookie dough balls onto the baking sheets 2 inches apart. (Use more sheets if necessary as these will be fairly big.)
- Bake cookies one sheet at a time for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the tops are just set. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 3 to 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. They will be very soft out of the oven so do not move them right away.
- Store cookies in an airtight container in the fridge up to 5 days. If desired, warm in the microwave for about 10 seconds to soften the cream cheese and make them creamy in the center.
Notes
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