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These cream cheese chocolate chip cookies are the ones I make whenever someone asks me for my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. A little cream cheese and two egg yolks give you crinkly tops, golden edges, and a thick center that’s still soft on day three, with no chilling, no mixer, and one bowl to wash. And no, you can’t taste the cream cheese at all (my family still doesn’t believe me)!!
If you love the melted-butter chew of my brown butter chocolate chip cookies, think of these as the softer, richer cousin. And if you’d rather skip the chocolate-cookie base altogether, my chocolate chip sugar cookie recipe swaps in a lighter sugar cookie dough with the same handful of mini chips.
Quick Look: Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 🍪 What it is: Thick, soft chocolate chip cookies from one bowl, with cream cheese and egg yolks and no chilling.
- ⭐ Why it works: Two yolks, no whites. You get richness without the extra water that makes cookies cakey.
- 💛 Why you’ll love it: No chill time and no mixer, so you can bake the minute the craving hits.
- ⚠️ What to watch for: Pull them while the centers still look puffy. They finish setting on the pan.
- 🍳 Pan notes: 4 per standard half sheet, 6 to 8 on a large sheet. Bake one pan at a time.
- ❄️ Make ahead: Dough keeps 24 hours in the fridge, or freeze scooped balls and bake from frozen plus 1 to 2 minutes.
Why These Cookies Work
I wanted an ultra-tender, almost fudgy center without chilling dough for hours. So I swapped part of the butter for cream cheese and traded the whole egg for two yolks. The first batch came out a little cakey, so I pulled back the flour, added a teaspoon of cornstarch, and dropped the oven to 360°F. That’s the batch where everything just fell into place, a soft batch cookie with thick centers, and it’s the one I’ve made more times than I can count.
- One teaspoon of cornstarch. It softens the crumb so the centers stay tender on day two and three. Same trick that keeps my soft and chewy small batch chocolate chip cookies soft, if eight cookies is more your speed.
- Cream cheese holds moisture. Blended into the butter and sugar, it keeps the crumb tender for days without tasting like cheesecake. (If you want a cream cheese center you can actually taste, that’s my cheesecake stuffed chocolate chip cookies.)
- Egg yolks, no whites. Yolks bring fat and emulsifiers for chew and richness. Whites add water and structure, which is exactly what makes a cookie puff up and turn cakey.
- Melted butter. Melting instead of creaming gives a denser, chewier cookie, and it’s why a whisk is all you need.
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Table of Contents
Key Ingredients
Full measurements in cups and grams are in the recipe card. These are the ones that make or break the batch.
- Full-fat brick cream cheese. Use block-style Philadelphia cream cheese (or any full-fat brick), softened to room temperature. Skip light, fat-free, whipped, or spreadable, they hold more water and the dough bakes flat. You only need 2 ounces, so the rest of the block can go into my fudgy cheesecake swirl brownies.
- Butter, melted and cooled. Let it cool until just warm to the touch. Too hot and it starts cooking the yolks. Salted or unsalted both work.
- Egg yolks. Two large yolks at room temperature blend in smoothest. Save the whites for these meringue cookies made with leftover egg whites.
- Brown sugar and granulated sugar. Packed brown sugar brings moisture, chew, and a caramel note, and the granulated sugar crisps the edges. Out of brown sugar? That’s a crispier cookie, and I tested it in my chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar.
- All-purpose flour. Spoon and level it, or better, weigh it (220 grams). Scooping straight from the bag can pack in up to 30% more flour, and you get dry, thick cookies that don’t spread.
- Chocolate chips or chunks. At least semi-sweet. I love dark chocolate chips or a mix of chips and chunks for those melty pools. Keep a handful to press on top.
- Vanilla extract. Two teaspoons is generous on purpose. It rounds out the sweetness, so use pure vanilla.
- Flaky sea salt. Optional but highly recommended. A pinch on each warm cookie balances the sweetness.
Substitutions and Additions
- No eggs at all. That needs its own recipe. My eggless chocolate chip cookies use cream cheese in place of the egg.
- M&M’s instead of chips. Swap some or all of the chocolate. For the holidays, my Christmas M&M chocolate chip cookies are ready to go.
- Other mix-ins. White chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, chopped nuts, or toffee bits all work. Keep the total at about 1½ cups for the best cookie-to-chip ratio.
- A whole egg instead of two yolks. It works, but the white adds moisture and structure, so expect puffier, slightly cakey cookies.
How to Make Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
This is the easiest chocolate chip cookie recipe with cream cheese I know: one bowl, a whisk, and a spatula. Exact amounts and times are in the recipe card below.
- Whisk the melted butter, softened cream cheese, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth and glossy, with no lumps of cream cheese left.
- Whisk in the yolks, vanilla, and milk until the mixture looks shiny and cohesive.
- Switch to a spatula. Add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt, and fold just until no dry flour remains. Overmixing is what turns these tough.
- Stir in the chocolate chips or chunks, saving a handful for the tops.
- Scoop 3 tablespoons of dough per cookie. No chilling needed, because the melted butter means the dough is ready right away. (For bite-size cookies, my mini chocolate chip cookies have their own bake time.)
- Space them well apart: 4 on a standard half sheet, or 6 to 8 on a large sheet. Bake at 360°F for 10 to 11 minutes, until the edges are set and lightly golden and the centers still look puffy. Press extra chocolate on top right away, then let them cool on the pan for 15 minutes so they finish setting.
Expert Tips
- Preheat all the way. A fully preheated oven gives you even spread.
- Chocolate on top = better shape. Pressing chips into the tops right out of the oven helps them settle flat and look bakery-made.
- The cookie cutter swirl. While they’re warm, set a round cutter slightly bigger than the cookie around it and swirl for a perfect circle.
- Storage. Chocolate chip cookies made with cream cheese stay soft longer than regular ones. Keep them airtight at room temperature for up to 4 days, no fridge needed. Freeze baked cookies up to 3 months with parchment between layers, and warm them 10 to 15 seconds in the microwave for that just-baked feel.
- Want them taller? For a giant, chilled, extra-thick cookie, my Levain Bakery walnut chocolate chip cookie copycat is the one.
Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookie FAQs
It adds moisture and richness without weighing the dough down, so chocolate chip cookies with cream cheese stay soft and tender for days. You can’t taste it at all. These taste like thick, buttery, classic chocolate chip cookies, just with a softer texture than a traditional recipe.
No. Because the butter is melted, the dough is ready to scoop and bake right away. If your kitchen is very warm or the dough feels too soft, 15 to 20 minutes in the fridge makes scooping easier.
I don’t recommend it. Low-fat, fat-free, and whipped cream cheese have more water and a looser consistency, so the dough gets runny and the cookies spread thin. Stick with full-fat block cream cheese.
The usual culprits are butter that was still hot when you mixed it, flour scooped instead of spooned and leveled, or an oven that wasn’t fully preheated. Parchment also spreads cookies slightly more than a silicone mat does.
Yes. Refrigerate the dough for up to 24 hours, or scoop it into balls, freeze until solid (about 2 hours), and store in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen and add 1 to 2 minutes. Craving the dough raw? This one has raw yolks and flour, so make my edible chocolate chip cookie dough instead.
More Chocolate Chip Cookie Favorites!
If you bake this cream cheese chocolate chip cookie recipe, leave a star rating 🌟 and a comment below. It helps other bakers so much! And tag me @chahinez_tbt on Instagram so I can see your crinkly tops!!
No-Chill Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter salted or unsalted, fully melted and cooled until just warm
- 2 oz full-fat brick cream cheese very soft
- ⅔ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large egg yolks room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups chocolate chips or chunks use at least semi-sweet; darker is even better
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 360°F (182°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter, cream cheese, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth, glossy, and fully combined.½ cup butter, 2 oz full-fat brick cream cheese, ⅔ cup brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar
- Whisk in the egg yolks, vanilla, and milk until the mixture is cohesive and shiny.2 large egg yolks, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon milk
- Switch to a spatula. Add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Fold gently just until no dry flour remains. Do not overmix.1¾ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- Stir in the chocolate chips or chunks, reserving a handful to press on top after baking.1½ cups chocolate chips or chunks
- Scoop 3 tablespoons of dough per cookie. Space them well apart: 4 cookies on a standard half sheet, or 6 to 8 on a large sheet.
- Bake one pan at a time for 10 to 11 minutes, until the edges are set and lightly golden and the centers still look slightly soft and puffy.
- Press extra chocolate on top right away (highly recommended) and sprinkle with flaky salt if using.
- Let the cookies cool on the pan for 15 minutes before carefully moving them to a wire rack.
Video
Notes
- Bake time is per pan. A standard half sheet fits 4 cookies and a large sheet fits 6 to 8. Bake one pan at a time on the middle rack, and keep the next batch of scooped dough on the counter while you wait.
- Weigh it for foolproof cookies. Every ingredient has a gram weight in the Metric tab. Flour matters most: 220 g. Scooped flour is the number one reason these come out thick and dry.
- Make ahead. Refrigerate the dough up to 24 hours, or freeze scooped dough balls up to 3 months and bake from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes.
- Parchment vs. silicone mats. Parchment gives a wider, flatter cookie. Silicone mats give a slightly thicker one. Both work, it’s preference.
- Chocolate on top = better shape. Pressing extra chips or chunks on right after baking helps the cookies settle and flatten evenly as they cool.
- For perfectly round cookies. While they’re still warm, place a round cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookie around it and gently swirl.
- Cooling matters. These keep setting as they cool. Leave them on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes before moving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love the taste but my cookies are flat. Any help?
I’m so glad you loved the taste! 😊 If your cookies spread too much and turned out flat, there are a few things that could have happened.
The biggest culprit is usually the butter temperature. Since this recipe uses melted butter, make sure it has cooled to just warm before mixing. If it’s too hot, it can melt the dough structure and cause extra spreading. Also, make sure your cream cheese is full-fat brick cream cheese (not the spreadable tub kind), and that your flour was measured correctly (try using a kitchen scale in grams).
For the next batch, I’d recommend chilling the scooped cookie dough for 30–60 minutes before baking. You can also try baking one test cookie first and, if it spreads too much, mix 1–2 tablespoons of flour into the remaining dough. Hope that helps and I’d love to hear how the next batch turns out!
The absolute best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever made. i doubled the recipe, used milk chocolate chips, semi sweet chips, and added toasted pecans. Absolutely amazing!!
Love the addition of the toasted pecans!
I was wondering if you could do a copycat recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies that are from Smiths grocery store.
That’s not a bad idea!
Delicious! Easy recipe bake up beautifully! So soft, moist and flavorful!
Thank you so much for the nice review!
Delicious! These cookies have a super chewy center with perfectly crispy edges. I used dark brown sugar as well as dark + semisweet chocolate chips 🙂
Thank you for the nice review 🙂
Bakery style cookie (actually better)— Seriously the best chocolate chip cookie I’ve made. I really don’t care for chocolate chips but I did this recipe exactly as it says and they came out soft, crinkly, and nice crust but not hard. It’s almost like the cream cheese helps the cookie melt away in your mouth. My family needed to pace themselves on how many to eat in one sitting as my batch only made 13 (I may have heavy scooped them) and I didn’t add as many chocolate chips but definitely topped them with the chunks at the end. We subbed our chocolate for dark. Can’t wait to make these again!
This made my day, thank you! So glad you loved them 😍 The cream cheese really is the secret
I loved them very much ,I add a teaspoon of cinnamon, just because I love it.i have a new base receipe . I also use this receipe for my oatmeal walnut cookies, I just swap out the the chips and put oatmeal and walnuts it was so good.
YUMM!! Thanks for sharing the swaps you made to this recipe, I might have to try that soon too!