Our month of chocolate desserts wouldn’t be complete without (you guessed it) chocolate chip cookies. So today, we’re featuring a jazzed up recipe with cream cheese for an extra soft cookie. Who could resist a warm plate of these on a frosty afternoon? Liren of Kitchen Confidante shows us how to make them…

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
By Liren Baker of Kitchen Confidante

I’m convinced that you can never have enough chocolate chip cookie recipes in your repertoire, and if you’re looking for one that is incredibly tender, I know you’ll turn to this recipe over and over again, just as I have. A blend of cream cheese, butter and one more special ingredient makes for a simple dough and perfect cookies. One tip: you’ll want to make a double batch and keep the cookie dough in the freezer so you can have your cookie fix whenever your heart desires!

Recipe: Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
Serves 2 dozen

You’ll need:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened at room temperature
1/2 cup (4 oz) cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup and 1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese on high speed until thoroughly mixed, about 2 minutes. Mix in the granulated and brown sugars until fully incorporated. Beat in the egg and vanilla and mix thoroughly again.

In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Slowly add this to the mixer and beat until just incorporated. Do not over stir. Fold or stir in the chocolate chips.

Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (or overnight).

Preheat the oven to 350F and place the racks in the center of the oven. Prepare your baking pans with parchment paper.

Take a medium ice cream scoop (equivalent to about 2 tablespoons) to scoop out the dough and roll into a ball. Place the cookie dough 2-3 inches apart, about 8 per cookie sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through to insure even baking.

When the cookies are golden brown on top and a nice amber color on the bottom, remove the tray from the oven and allow the cookies to settle on their trays for a few minutes; they will be very soft initially. Gently transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Thank you so much, Liren!

P.S. More recipes, including the best chocolate chip cookies you’ll ever have and delicious mascarpone cheesecake.

(Recipe and photos by Liren Baker. Thanks to Stella Blackmon for helping with this series.)